A Heart Broken A Soul Torn
by WrathoftheTemplar
Summary: With the greatest victory, comes the greatest sacrifice. Ash has obtained his dream, yet it has left him broken and hollow. He has turned his back on the world, his friends, his love. All he can do is reminisce of the times he was whole. When his heart wasn't broken, and his soul wasn't torn.
1. Chapter 1

So, this is an old story that I had on my other account, but decided to take it down because I wanted to make some edits to it. However that was a looong time ago and I never got around to putting it back up. Recently I tried to get into my old account, but I had forgotten my password. So I had it emailed to me, but that email account hadn't been used in a loooong time and I had forgotten that password as well. And like a tard, I didn't have a backup email so I had no way to get into my old account. So instead of trying to get around it, I made a new one. No biggie. The only issue was that I was in the middle of a rewrite of a different fic, so I don't think I'm allowed to post it on this account since it already exists on the website. Anyways, I'll put this story back up and leave it up this time, and like a smart person, I have my password saved on a doc on my computer. Anyways, this is written for purely your enjoyment, so, enjoy!

* * *

'_I did it. I had finally become Master. I didn't know it would be so empty without you. After I lost you, I lost everything. Without you, I am nothing._' Ash looked up to the bright night sky, like every night as he thought. The moon was just a small sliver in the sky and the stars sparkled amidst the black void. A brief meteor shower took place, followed a single 'shooting star'. The myth was that if you wished upon a shooting star, the wish would come true. So he closed his eyes and made his wish, the same wish he made when he saw every shooting star. "Do you think she has moved on?" He asked his close partner, whom he was leaning against.

The large orange dragon lifted his head and looked back at his master with eyes filled with pity. Before, he would think his trainer weak for holding onto such sentiments, but now, he could see that his master had never fully recovered. And he wouldn't. His mind and soul had been torn in half and he took it upon himself to protect his master at all cost. He would not allow the same to happen twice, even if his life depended on it. He let out a small comforting growl and nudged his master with his snout.

Ash looked at his partner and gave him a weak smile. He rubbed the creature's snout, finding comfort in his old friend. "You're right. It's best I not think about it." He rest his head against Charizard's neck, the warmth of the fire type's body easily keeping him warm in the chill night. He wrapped his black cloak around his body for a blanket and closed his eyes, drifting off to the same nightmare he had every night. Charizard laid his head back down, pulling up his wing to shield it caringly over his master. He too had to fight his battle with nostalgia. He had to remain strong, for Ash's sake.

"Today is the day you've all been waiting for!" Boomed the announcer's voice across the stadium. "Easily the battle of the last fifteen years as Ash Ketchum from Pallet takes on the one and only Pokemon Master! Will Ash, a young man of eighteen, become the youngest Master in pokemon history? Or will he fall like the last challenger? Only time will tell as we wait for this fateful match to begin!"

"I guess that's my cue," Ash said with a confident grin. He watched as his friends hurried off to their front row seating in the stands, however one redhead remained behind. He smiled as he looked at the dressed up Misty standing in front of him, her aquamarine eyes off slightly to the side. She wore a light blue summer dress and a thin white jacket. Around her neck was the cerulean teardrop necklace he had given her for their one-year anniversary. She brushed her bangs out of her face as she had decided to grow out her long orange hair. He slowly approached her and embraced her in a comforting hug. He was glad that she dressed up for his match, but he was even gladder that she didn't add the make-up or fancy perfume. He didn't think she needed it anyways.

"Good luck out there," she said softly and squeezed him tightly. He cradled her slightly, a fire burning in his chest. It was amazing how those simple words made him feel invincible. He would not lose, could not lose with her behind him. "I'll be cheering you on the entire time," she said pulling away, but then suddenly stopped. "You still have that?" She reached for her special lure that now dangled from his neck.

He took her hand and closed it around the lure. "It's my good luck charm. I've always carried it with me for good luck, but I think I'll wear it for this battle." He pulled her in for a tender kiss before releasing her. "You ready Pikachu?" He looked to the electric rodent atop his right shoulder and the mouse responded with a confident "Pika!" He looked back at Misty who smiled brightly. "It'll be over before you know it, and I'll be the new Pokemon Master," he said with a grin as he began to back up towards the double steal doors leading to the stadium.

Misty watched him go until he walked out of the iron doors and into the stadium full of roaring fans, both of him and the current Master. She had noticed that he had taken certain care of his appearance for this particular match. Oddly enough, he did not wear his trademark hat that he always seemed to favor. In fact he hadn't been wearing it that often as of late. He also sported a black vest with a medium collar and a royal blue undershirt and wore a pair of dark blue jeans and new black sneakers. As he disappeared behind the steel doors she made her way to the staircase to head up to the stands.

She was surprised by how much he had grown and matured over the years. Before he returned and before they confessed their feelings for each other, she remembered him as the strong and determined but thickheaded pokemon trainer. He would always rush into things recklessly and make a racket over the tiniest of things. But during their reunion after the Sinnoh League, she was able to see just how much the young trainer grew in her absence.

He was no longer loud and obnoxious or annoying. He was well in tune to his strengths and weaknesses. His battle style had gained a significant amount of strategy as he thought things through and even used unorthodox methods to get him out of tight places and turn the tides of battles. His demeanor alone, the way he carried himself, had matured as well. But Ash was Ash, and that would never change.

"Hey Mist!" Brock's familiar voice called to her. "I saved you a seat. We have a good view of the battle from here and can still cheer for Ash." He smiled as she made her way down to him. Feeling like an older brother to both Ash and Misty, he was thrilled when they finally got together. During their travels, while Ash was still oblivious to Misty's feelings, he would often talk to her and offer what advice she would be willing to accept. It wasn't until halfway through their Hoenn journey that Ash came to him about his feelings for Misty. He liked to think of himself as the reason the two got together in the first place, for he practically forced Ash to take Misty on a date.

He smirked as he remembered Ash retelling him the disastrous event and how he stumbled over his words the entire night and the evening was awkward until he blurted out his feelings in an attempt to keep from passing out. But after that, things went smoothly. They hung out more, caught up after not seeing each other in so long and then became a normal couple. Or as normal as it can get with Ash at least. As Misty took her seat next to him he looked over at her and smirked. "Stayed behind to give Ash a little luck?" He rubbed his shoulder as she hit him, quite hard.

"That's none of your business!" She shouted, drawing a little attention to herself. She could feel her face heat up and turn a slight pink.

"Now, Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer's voice suddenly boomed, causing the two particular friends in the stands to flinch. "The moment you've all been waiting for, the arrival of the challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet! Ash, if you will come to the center of the stage and answer us a few questions while we wait for the Master."

Ash slowly made his way to the center of the large dirt battlefield where the announcer and a camera crew waited for him. He took a look around the field quickly, searching for anything that may help him. It was barren, a simple dirt field. He observed the stands crowded with thousands of people. Many held banners with his name on it and pictures of Pikachu. Most favored the Master. The stadium was huge, easily fitting several thousand spectators. A large dome covered the stadium and lights hung from the high ceiling. He then directed his attention back onto the announcer as he reached the center of the field.

"Hello Ash," the announcer said. "Normally we have the interview after the battle, but while we have time, why don't we entertain the crowd with a few quick questions?"

"Sure," he replied casually not even glancing at the camera focused at him. Instead he continued his admiration of the massive dome while Pikachu tilted his head at the camera.

"So I see you have a Pikachu with you. Do you plan on using him in battle?" The announcer asked shoving a mike in front of Ash's face.

Ash looked at the man as though he were insane. "Yeah. I started with Pikachu and I plan on finishing with him. He may be small, but if you underestimate him, you have already lost."

"Haha!" The announcer laughed, pulling the mike back in front of him. "That is a very odd necklace you're wearing, is it a good luck charm or something?"

At this Ash smirked, knowing that Misty would be turning a whole new shade of red. And sure enough as he glanced in her direction he spotted her crimson face. "Yeah, it was given to me by someone very special and dear to me. She's over there if you want to see. The red one," he said pointing directly at Misty. He could have sworn she called him an arrogant jerk, but then again a lot of people were cheering and laughing.

"Well it looks like the Master will be here any moment. Would you like to say anything while there is still time?"

"Yeah," Ash said taking the mike. "First off I wanna shout out to my mom, who can't be here because she is really ill. Thanks for everything ma, and get well soon! I'll be on my way home as soon as I can." He then turned to face his friends who waited in the stands. "I also wanna shout out to my friends. Brock, you've always been like an older brother to me, helping me out when I needed it and offering loads of advice on battling and other things. Gary, I've always considered you my greatest Rival and I enjoy the bond we share now. But it looks like we get to live both of our dreams, despite the bets you put against me." The last comment got the crowd to laugh.

"Don't count on that yet Ashy-boy! I may still win that bet! Haha!" His rival shouted once the laughter died down, causing another stroke of laughter.

"And lastly, I wanna thank you Misty, for being there for me since the beginning and pushing me the entire way. Though we parted ways a brief time, you never left my mind, and now I'm glad I have you behind me. You'll be there to lift me back on my feet if I fail or pull me back down to earth if I succeed. I love you," he finished with a broad grin as the crowd began to cheer and say "aw". '_Well, it doesn't matter if I win or lose now, she's gonna kill me after that._'

"Cute kid, cute," the announcer said just loud enough for Ash to hear him. "Good luck to you." The announcer then brought the mike up to his face. "And here is the Master!" He shouted over the erupting crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you Pokemon Master Cyril Gray!"

Ash turned to the opposing end of the field as a tall figured walked from the steel doors. He looked to be in his mid-forties, completely catching Ash off guard. He figured the Pokemon Master would be some old guy with years of training and experience under his belt. The Master approached the center of the field and large confident strides, and upon a closer look at the man, Ash was even more surprised. His gray hair was short and spiked back and he had peppered scruff covering his face. His eyes were black as coals but did not falter and held complete determination. He tried not to cringe as the Master shook his hand with a vice-like grip.

For an aging man, he looked incredibly fit. He was clearly muscled beneath the silver jacket that fanned out as it went below his waist. The long sleeves of the jacket looked almost skin tight and he could see it take the shape of the muscles of his thick arms. He probably trained his body as well as his pokemon. The Master then spoke in a deep but lively voice.

"Congratulations Ash for making it this far," Cyril said just letting go of Ash's hand. Ash tensed as he felt a shiver run down his spine. Even Pikachu had to resist being blown away by the man's radiance. "I haven't had a good battle in a long time. I hope you're ready to give it everything you've got, because this will be a battle like none other."

Ash could only nod as he stared into the man's eyes. "I trained long and hard for this moment. You can count on a challenge." At that the Master laughed in his deep voice and said something about looking forward to it before spinning on his heel towards his side of the arena. Ash took that as his cue to get to his end to ready the match. "Alright Pikachu, let's do this,"

"Pika!"

As Ash got to his little box on the field he looked back up to his friends who also seemed dazed at the appearance of the Master. They had all seen him on television before, for certain events and special battles, but the effect was different in person. He looked at Misty who caught his gaze and gave him a smile and a thumbs up. "You can do this!" She shouted. He smiled and then turned his attention to the field. Now he would have to focus, no more distractions. He waited for the referee to call the rules as he fiddled with his five pokeballs on his belt.

"This will be a match between Cyril Gray and Ash Ketchum over title of Pokemon Master. Standard League rules will apply to this six on six match. No items. Each pokemon will fight until fainted or they are outside the arena for ten seconds. Trainers are allowed to switch once per match and only after the first two minutes have elapsed. Also trainers are not permitted to leave their square. Any infringement of these rules will result in a disqualification. In case of a draw, the defender of the title will take the victory, unless he chooses to hand it over it his opponent. Do you both understand?" When he got confirmation from both trainers, he hurried to the edge of the field with two flags in hand, a red one for Ash and a green for Cyril.

"Alright Ash, I'll make this easy, so you don't have to guess. Come on out, Arcanine!" Cyril pulled a pokeball from his belt and hurled it towards the center of the field and out came the massive orange and black striped firedog pokemon. Upon its exit from the pokeball, the pokemon reared back its head and let out a loud howl.

Ash removed his hand from his original choice and pulled the second pokeball on his belt. He felt that his first choice could easily deal with the fire type, but he wanted to secure this victory. If Cyril knowingly gave him the edge, he would take it. He figured Cyril would have the sense to have counters for his weaknesses. "Alright Floatzel, let's go!" Ash tossed the red and white ball forward and the much smaller sea otter came from the small contents. It let out a confident battle cry, ready for a battle he had spent many months training for.

"And so, Master Cyril leads with a new face, his Arcanine! While the challenger Ash leads with Floatzel! Ash may have the type advantage, but lets see what tactics the Master has coming to play!"

* * *

Ash stirred from his slumber as the rising sun hit his face. He sat up and stretched, stiff from his less than comfortable sleeping position. He ran his gloved hand through his shaggy black hair that had gained some length on the road. He stood up, the rest of his black cloak falling around his body and began to walk towards the distant mountains: his training grounds. Charizard had stirred and followed a few paces behind. Ever since that fateful day, Charizard refused to return to his pokeball, but it did not bother him. He didn't mind the company.

He reached to the lure from under his cloak and gripped it tightly. "Has it really been five years? Well at least they are not looking for me anymore. Perhaps they did move on…" a growl from Charizard brought him out of his thoughts. "No, all I need are you guys. I… I don't need anyone else." He gripped the lure tighter as he spoke those words. Charizard growled again. He spun around, his cloak rising as it twirled. "It doesn't matter what I want!" The flare seemed to catch his partner off guard as the large orange dragon recoiled.

"I… I can't go back. I can't be forgiven, for all that I've done. Not after I broke her heart. I don't have the strength to face her… She doesn't want anything to do with me anymore anyways. She probably moved on by now…" Charizard approached him and placed his clawed hand on his shoulder. He looked up gratefully to his pokemon. They had grown so close in the last five years, closer than ever, but it would never be as close as either of them would have liked. The rift in his broken spirit would not be mended, for some of the pieces were lost forever. "I know I haven't… nor do I think I ever will. But I will not go back. You guys are all I ever need."

He resumed his walk towards the mountains where they would spend the next three months in seclusion training vigorously just for the sake of getting even stronger. Luxuries seemed rather pointless to him now. But with all this time alone, his mind constantly wandered, always back to that day, five years ago.

* * *

"Go Arcanine, extreme speed!"

"Match it with an aqua jet!"

Both pokemon surged forward upon their owners commanded, leaving only a blur in their wake. They grazed sides before landing on opposite ends and turned for a second bout. Floatzel won the third joust as Arcanine lifted his front right leg in injury. But the otter pokemon had sustained his own fair share of injuries as he struggled to stabilize his footing after enduring the high-speed assault. Both trainers remained calm as the pokemon circled each other on the field waiting for their next orders.

"Floatzel, use water pulse on his right side!" Ash shouted hoping to take the Arcanine out by attacking its injured side. Floatzel gathered a ball of water at its paws and then launched it towards the firedog. He was puzzled as to why Cyril did not give a command, or why Arcanine didn't even move to avoid the powerful water attack that could very well end the match. Then it came. Cyril ordered a flamethrower attack, and Arcanine braced itself before spewing a massive stream of flames from its mouth.

The flames hit the attack first, evaporating it almost instantly and continued on to its shocked target. Ash reacted in enough time to have Floatzel avoid the scorching attack with agility and then ordered his pokemon to counter with another water pulse. But just like before, Arcanine dissipated the water move with its powerful flamethrower. Arcanine then pressed the offensive, remaining stationary as it spewed flamethrower after flamethrower to the exhausted otter. Ash let the battle take its course as he waited for an opening in between attacks while Floatzel darted around the massive arena. He was running out of time fast, for the field was heating up, much like he had done with his battle with Gary years ago and Floatzel was wearing out.

"That's it," he whispered under his breath as he gazed at the now scorching hot field. "Floatzel, cool down the field with rain dance!" Floatzel begin to dance around, flailing his arms and feet while still trying to avoid the flamethrowers. Slowly dark clouds began to form within the dome. A boom of thunder echoed throughout the dome, momentarily halting Arcanine's attacks. A light drizzle started, which then picked up into a heavy downpour, soaking everyone in the stadium, much to their displeasure. Ash remained focused on the battlefield as the rain caused the field to steam up like a sauna. "Now finish it with the strongest water pulse you have!"

"Brighten the sky Arcanine! Then end it with Fire Blast!" Cyril commanded as well. As Floatzel used the cover of the steam to gather his water pulse attack, Arcanine reared back his soaked mane and howled. His body began to glow and a bright orange sphere of energy shot up towards the top of the dome. The rain stopped and the clouds began to break up, revealing a brightly burning replica sun. Still slightly blinded by the steam, Arcanine gathered a ball of fire in his mouth and waited to unleash his fire blast. He scanned the battlefield until he could make out the silhouette of his opponent and then unleashed his attack.

"Fire now Floatzel!" Ash said as the force of the fire blast parted the steam and revealed Arcanine's soaked form. The attack was heading right towards Floatzel. Moments later he saw Floatzel send forth the water pulse, now a giant orb of water that had been collected from the rain. "Reinforce it with a water gun!" He could see Floatzel propel his attack forward with a water gun, also increasing its size. As the water pulse and fire blast met between both pokemon, a stalemate was formed. Fresh steam poured from the center of the field as the attacks whittled away at each other. But while Floatzel was trying to strengthen his attack, Cyril ordered his Arcanine to charge around it with an extreme speed combined with a thunder fang. Ash was too slow to see the massive firedog flank his pokemon and clamp down with thunder charged jaws. Floatzel immediately ended his attack and cried out in pain. The fire blast, now greatly weakened, managed to push through the water pulse and hit its intended target.

Ash looked around frantically, trying to see if Floatzel was all right from the onslaught. "Floatzel?" He called. Then he saw a shadow approach him from the steam, but it was not the form of his pokemon. It was large and on all fours with a slight limp favoring its right leg. The form of another pokemon, his, looked as though it was being dragged along the ground by the scruff of its neck. Sure enough, Arcanine emerged from the steam, with Floatzel in tow and laid the defeated pokemon in front of Ash's feet. Ash recoiled at the sight, not expecting the excellent sportsmanship from his opponent's pokemon.

"Thank you," he said to the Arcanine as it limped its way back to its side of the field. He grabbed Floatzel's pokeball from his belt, disappointed that he would lose when he had the advantage. "I was too careless. I'm sorry, Zel. You fought well and deserve a rest." He withdrew his burned and fainted pokemon. By now the stadium's ventilation system had kicked into full gear and the steam began to fade, now fully revealing the field to the competing trainers and the audience.

"Whoa! What happened?" the announcer shouted. "One second the two pokemon are locked in a battle of water and fire, and the next we are all blinded by the steam. I hope everyone enjoyed that sauna, and I hope you brought some sunscreen because it is super bright in here! But it looks as though Ash's Floatzel has gone down! I guess only Master Cyril and Ash will know what truly went in that steamy battlefield."

"Great job Ash," Cyril said into headset that magnified his voice throughout the stadium. "Your Floatzel lasted longer than I expected. I'm sticking with Arcanine for this next one. Don't disappoint me."

Ash only smirked at the Master's arrogant remark. Cyril had already underestimated him, and his Arcanine paid the price. There was no way he was going to lose this next match. He reached for his initial choice, which he thought he should have stuck with and lopped the ball on the field. '_Please don't be asleep_.' A very large and round pokemon with a green hide and cream belly appeared on its back, his chest steadily rising and falling. '_Crap… well it makes little difference_.'

"Snorlax?" Misty said in slight shock as she rung out her wait hair. The sudden change of weather in the domed stadium hadn't made her the happiest of spectators. She had taken care to dress up just to get soaked and then sweat profusely due to immense heat from the small sun. "I didn't know he was training with Snorlax. What other surprises does he have?"

"Yeah that is strange. He didn't tell anyone who he was taking with him for training. Pikachu was a given, but as far as I know, the rest of his team is a mystery, minus the two we've seen already." Brock said wiping the sweat from his forehead and taking off his traveling jacket. He too wasn't feeling all too comfortable sitting in wet clothes in a humid dome under a hot sun. He wished that his clothes would dry faster and that the vents would cycle out the humidity.

"And it looks like the challenger Ash has sent out a Snorlax, but it looks like it is asleep! Whether or not he was counting on that happening, it will delay him a while in this match."

Ash smirked at how little the announcer knew about his battle style. "Alright Snorlax, let's start this off with a snore!" He quickly covered his ears as Snorlax began to snore obnoxiously loud with each intake. The crowd whined in protest at the annoyance but Ash kept his gaze on the intended target. Cyril cringed and began to rub his temples with his fingers and his Arcanine whined while vigorously shaking its head.

"Arcanine, quiet it with a Flare Blitz!" Cyril shouted. Arcanine began to charge Snorlax despite its injured side and became engulfed in a raging ball of fire. The flames around Arcanine tripled in size due to the intensified heat, throwing Ash slightly off guard. He had forgotten about the effects of the sunny day and mentally slapped himself. He just had to hope his luck was good

"Snorlax, sleep talk!" In that instant, Snorlax sat up and got to his feet, wobbling to and fro, threatening to fall over. Arcanine was closing in with an attack that could very well bring a quick end to this match. Ash clenched his fist, wishing Snorlax would hurry up with his attack. And with that, Snorlax crouched low and pushed off, going skyward in what seemed to defy physics. Arcanine blew right under Snorlax, the flare around his fur disappearing. As he came to a stop he dipped to his right. Cyril shouted frantically for his pokemon to run as Snorlax began its belly flop to the flame pokemon below. But Arcanine was too injured and exhausted to fully avoid the body slam.

"And Arcanine is unable to battle!" the announcer shouted. "He seemed too worn to avoid that devastating body slam! I think we should change the phrase 'when a Snorlax flies' because it looked like it just happened folks! I didn't even know they could jump that high, or jump at all! Who will the Master pick now?"

"Return Arcanine, you handled your fair share of things," Cyril said recalling his fire pokemon. "Well done Ash. He was one of my more inexperience partners, so don't get too full of yourself. Let's see… Staraptor." Cyril tossed the red and white ball in the air and out flew a large dark bird with intimidating markings on its body. "Dive in for a close combat!" He ordered and with great speed, the large bird moved in for the assault.

Ash called for another sleep talk, hoping that Snorlax could pull off another stunning victory, but his calls went unanswered. Snorlax instead yawned and rolled over to his side. Staraptor fell upon the large sleeping pokemon and began to peck and scratch at him. Snorlax cried out in a mix of pain and rage as it was disturbed from its sleep. Without orders from its trainer, the rotund pokemon released a powerful ice beam, clipping the frantic bird's wing and driving it away. Ash only grinned at his pokemon's fury, which he was counting on since the beginning. "Alight Snorlax, rollout!" On command, Snorlax curled up into a ball and spun forward towards Staraptor. The bird of prey struggled to gain altitude from its injured wing and took another blow from its opponent.

Cyril ordered Staraptor to go in for another close combat while Snorlax continued its rollout. The two pokemon collided, Staraptor pecking away at Snorlax's spinning body in a futile attempt to do damage. But Snorlax's massive size and strength proved too much for the injured bird as the rollout, now gaining much momentum, met its intended target. Ash had to drop to his stomach as Staraptor's form flew at him and collided into the wall behind him. He could hear Brock and Misty's surprised shouts as the incident happened within the blink of an eye. He looked up from face planting the ground to see Cyril's shocked expression. Clearly he wasn't anticipating Snorlax's enraged state. But his expression faded and was replaced with a smile, one of excitement.

"And Master Cyril is down two pokemon while Ash is down one and his Snorlax has minimum damage! What will the Master do to even the tides of this outrageous battle?"

Cyril called back his pokemon and tossed out another. A humanoid figured appeared with four muscled arms. The rest of his body was also ripped with muscles. "Go Machamp! This is the last rookie Ash! After this the gloves come off!"

Ash cringed as he could only guess at the Master's veteran pokemon. It was common knowledge that the Master had over three hundred different species of pokemon and that most if not all had been raised for battling purposes. The Master's pokemon always changed after every battle, except for his first three pokemon he had on his journey. What those were he did not know. League rules stated that the Pokemon Master's pokemon are not allowed to be documented until after death or another has ascended the title of Master. He came into this match blind and as a result he only brought his strongest, hoping that he could cover most of the type advantages. Floatzel's performance busted that strategy however and now he was going to attempt the same.

"Machamp, bulk up!" The super power pokemon began to pump its four arms to strengthen its body. Snorlax curled up and began another rollout assault as Machamp then began to focus its energy. Machamp dug down deep and held out its four arms in attempt to stop Snorlax. Upon contact, Machamp lost much ground using all of his strength to stay in the play. But Snorlax was quickly pushing him back towards Cyril, who remained unflinching at the two approaching bodies. "Now Machamp, use vital throw!"

Just before Machamp was about to cross the line and enter Cyril's box, both pokemon stopped despite Snorlax's frantic spinning in place. Machamp took a step forward, pushing Snorlax back and slowing its spin. As the massive pokemon lost its momentum and came to a stop, Machamp began to lift it in the air, all four arms wavering as it pushed against the heavy pokemon.

"Snorlax, hit 'em with a body slam!" Machamp fell to one knee as Snorlax seemed to force more weight on him. But with encouragement from his master, Machamp rose back to both legs, not only shocking the immense crowd, but the pokemon it was lifting as well. Then with all four arms, the muscled pokemon began to spin Snorlax in his grasp before launching him to the other side of the arena. Snorlax went skyward before beginning a swift descent to the hard ground below. Thinking quickly, Ash ordered a hyper beam towards the ground. Snorlax did just that and launched a powerful hyper beam to the ground below, dramatically slowing his fall until he could land safely on the ground. The save caused the crowd to erupt.

"And Ash's quick thinking has kept Snorlax in the match, but for how long no one knows. That last attack seemed to leave Snorlax drained and- look at this! Cyril is pressing the attack as Machamp rushes across the field, fists burning bright with energy. I believe it is a focus punch! What perfect timing! Machamp has the time to let the attack charge and this may be the end for Snorlax!"

Ash placed his hands on his head as he watched as his exhausted Snorlax take the powerful punch. The strength of the attack sent Snorlax out of the arena and into the wall, leaving a large round indentation. He had to stop himself as he almost ran out of the trainer's square. "Snorlax!" he shouted, hoping his pokemon was alright. Machamp had used all four arms for the attack, effectively quadrupling the power of the attack. There was no way any of his pokemon would have survived that attack. But the attack had also taken a toll on Machamp as well. The super power pokemon was panting heavily after exerting so much energy. Tossing Snorlax alone had done enough.

"And Snorlax is unable to battle. Cyril and his Machamp take the match. What a battle! Both combatants are neck in neck with four pokemon left, but Master Cyril's pokemon isn't looking too good. Ash still seems to be at an advantage, unless the Master will choose to switch out and no- he is keeping Machamp in. He is going to push him to the very end!"

"Go Heracross! Finish this with an aerial ace!" Ash released the bug pokemon and watched it fly into its exhausted opponent. Machamp attempted to counter, but the attack came too fast for him to strike back. Heracross landed several paces away and then charged his opponent from behind, jabbing his horn into Machamp's back in a fury of attacks.

Machamp turned around and raised his arms for a cross chop, but was stopped before contact by a counter attack. Heracross caught his arms and then spun him around before releasing and sending him sprawling towards the center of the field. He struggled to get to his feet, but collapsed back to the ground in exhaustion. Cyril smirked as he recalled Machamp and held out what looked to be a custom made pokeball. It was silver with a black design on the top.

"This was my first catch as a pokemon trainer. We have over thirty years of battling experience under our belt and he was one of six who helped me get this title. Go Mightyena!" A large black and gray wolf looking pokemon burst from the pokeball and immediately charged the Heracross. The bug pokemon staggered back as the wolf charged without any orders and prepared for a counter attack. He raised his arm to catch a powerful bite attack and then proceeded to use a brick break while Mightyena gnawed on his arm.

"Heracross throw it off of you and use a megahorn!" Before Heracross could execute the command, the Mightyena released the beetle pokemon and side stepped the megahorn attack. It then used a powerful take down into Heracross' side, sending him sprawling towards the edge of the arena. Mightyena was not far behind with its claws glowing a dark purple. "Heracross counter!" Ash shouted as the Mightyena slashed out at his pokemon.

Cyril watched as his pokemon expertly moved on its own accord. After years of training, Mightyena did not need to rely on him for direction. He was capable of winning this battle on his own. Mightyena's shadow claw hit home, doing critical damage to Heracross. Heracross responded with a powerful counter attack, jabbing his large horn into his pokemon's side. The dark wolf responded with an angry howl and bit down on Heracross' horn and flung him back towards the center of the arena. He charged again, this time with intentions on ending the match. His claws turned purple again and Heracross struggled to get to his feet.

"Heracross, megahorn!" He was completely ill prepared for Mightyena's ferocity. Cyril had not spoken a single word since Mightyena came onto the field, allowing his pokemon to do what ever it pleased. And again, while he had the double type advantage, he found himself once again losing. Heracross would not emerge victorious this round, but at least he would do some damage before doing down. With Heracross' horn aglow, he lunged forward into Mightyena's claws. Both pokemon were locked in a brief stalemate before Mightyena finally overpowered the weakened bug pokemon.

"And down goes Ash's third pokemon!" The announcer shouted. "And it looks as though Mightyena has received minor damage throughout that fight. Is this the end for Ash? We're talking about one of the Master's first pokemon here." As the announcer spoke, Mightyena trotted casually over to his side of the arena to wait for his next opponent.

Ash recalled his fainted Heracross and pondered over whom he should bring out to combat this challenging foe. He had only three pokemon to go, and this Mightyena was a fearsome block in the road. He felt a tug at his side and looked down to Pikachu. "No. I need to save the strongest for last. Sorry buddy." He pulled another pokeball from his belt and tossed it forward. "Sceptile, leaf blade!"

"Brock," Misty said with her eyes glued to the battlefield. Heracross' swift defeat from Mightyena had surprised both of them, especially since Heracross was still fresh. Now they watched as Mightyena kept up with Ash's swift and nimble Sceptile. "That Mightyena is ridiculous. I've never seen such a fierce pokemon battle."

The older friend did not take his chances to look at her in case he would miss something extraordinary. "Well, Cyril did say it was his first catch and has been with him ever since. That's thirty plus years of training, Misty. Have you noticed that Cyril hasn't given a single command since Mightyena came out?"

Misty seemed to pause for a moment. "Now that you mention it, he's just watching the battle." She looked towards Ash, who was at the edge of the trainer's box shouting commands to keep Sceptile in the match. As Mightyena launched forward with a deadly fire fang attack, Sceptile flipped overhead delivering a cross leaf blade against the wolf's back. But even after multiple attacks, Mightyena charged with renewed ferocity. The battle began to frighten her as she worried for Sceptile's safety. The grass pokemon was already showing signs of heavy fatigue, while Mightyena looked to be full of energy.

"The gap between his first three pokemon and this one is incredible. I can only imagine what his other two are like. Especially his starter," Brock said right before cheering after Sceptile landed what looked to be a critical hit with a super effective X-scissor attack. The single attack seemed to change the tide of battle as Mightyena's attacks became more sluggish and Sceptile's counters took more effect.

Misty kept her worried eyes on the battle. Though Sceptile managed to dramatically turn the tides, things were far from over. By now Cyril had gotten involved in the battle to guide his injured pokemon. But it was already too late; Mightyena was too injured to salvage the battle.

"Sceptile, now finish it with an X-scissor!" Ash shouted, ignoring the sweat soaking his body. Though the sunny day effect had dissipated long ago, the intensity of the entire battle drove him to his limit. He felt physically and mentally exhausted after battling for almost three hours non-stop. He could only imagine what his pokemon felt like.

"I cede this match, Mightyena return!" Cyril called out just before his injured pokemon met Sceptile's finishing blow. Sceptile called off its attack and slowly made its way over to Ash. Though he had received minor damage, the constant moving and attacking had drained most of his strength.

"And Master Cyril calls the match instead of watching his pokemon faint! This act of compassion may very well cost him the battle, but no title is worth seeing an old friend hurt. But this means that it only gets harder for Ash Ketchum as we now move onto one of Cyril's strongest pokemon!"

"Sceptile, take a break, you deserved it." Ash said recalling his exhausted pokemon. "I'm pulling Sceptile from the match as well. He doesn't have the strength to battle anymore." As he said this, he noticed Cyril grin at him.

"What an interesting turn of events! Now Ash Ketchum has removed his Sceptile from play. A bold move for the challenger. Though the score may be even, Ash has now put himself at a great disadvantage. Let's see who they will send in next!"

Both trainers pulled their next pokeball and tossed it onto the field and shouted in unison. "Go! Charizard!"

* * *

Next part will be up soon


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Done with finals and now I can finally enjoy a little R&R. Enjoy

* * *

"Ash stop!"

"Let me go!"

"No Ash! You'll get crushed!"

"Let me go! Pikachu! Pikachu… no…"

"Ash I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Why didn't you let me go? I could have saved him!"

"Ash the dome was crumbling. You would have been crushed."

"No! Damn it Brock I could have saved him! Why didn't you let me?"

"What about us? What about Misty? You think I could ever live with myself if you died too? Your life was in danger and I acted! I did what I had too! I'm… I'm sorry. I couldn't. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. You're like a brother to me. Ash?"

"I'm done talking to you. I need to be alone."

"Ash…"

* * *

Brock slowly sat up from his large twin bed and rubbed the crust from his eyes. The small room was fairly cool and the morning sun crept through two small windows illuminating the room. He took in a deep breath as he calmed himself from the vivid dream. Every week he would wake early in the morning in a cold sweat from the same dream. Life since that day had never been the same for him.

He looked to the clock that read six thirty-seven and decided to get started with his day instead of sleeping for an extra twenty-three minutes. He jumped from his bed and quickly fluffed his pillow and smoothed out the heavy comforter. He walked across from his bed to a rectangular dresser with six drawers: two columns and three rows. He pulled a simple white t-shirt and black jeans. As he made his way to the door he picked a towel from a towel rack and headed to the bathroom.

Everyday, while he stood beneath the hot water pounding against his back he would reflect on Ash's Master match. He wondered if things could have been different. If there was something he could have done that would have kept Ash with them. But he was in the stands when it had happened. His own two-story jump from them had broken his leg as he prevented Ash from running off to his death. Had he not done so, Ash would be dead. But as a result, their friendship had been torn apart. Ash blamed him for not being able to rescue his long time partner. He blamed himself as well, but he never regretted his decision.

He turned off the water and remained in the steaming shower, the sauna relaxing his tense muscles for the time being. He clenched his fists as he thought of the perpetrators of the whole event. Team Rocket. He was glad Jessie and James gave up their lives of crime after years of failure, however he was not too fond of their replacements. Professional Rockets. He would have taken the blundering trio over their more skilled counter parts any day. They caused the roof to collapse and would have succeeded in stealing both Ash's and Cyril's wounded pokemon if it were not for Charizard. The memory frightened him as he had never seen Charizard act as he did. He knew the prideful dragon was aggressive, but never dangerous to humans.

But as cruel as it was, he secretly applauded Charizard. They got what they deserved. He stepped from the shower and began to dry off and dress in fresh clothes. He turned on the vent to clear out the steam and then returned to his room to dump his sleeping pants and towel in his hamper. His next destination led him to the kitchen downstairs where he would begin prepping breakfast.

"Charizard," he said quietly. "He sure was something…"

* * *

"Go! Charizard!"

As Cyril hurled a bright red and yellow pokeball with an orange flame on it, a mighty Charizard that looked to be almost three times its average size appeared. At the same time appeared Ash's Charizard who had certainly grown, but was still a few feet short of his opponent.

"That is a very impressive Charizard Ash. This should be a good fight."

"Alright Charizard, this is your next test. Show the world who is the strongest Charizard of them all," Ash rallied. Charizard spread his monstrous wing span and roared, conserving his flame for the fight.

Brock leaned forward to better compare the two orange dragons. Professor Oak behind him went on how young Charizards are relatively small, no larger than six feet. But as they grow in both age and experience, they become much larger. Cyril's Charizard looked to be almost sixteen feet fall, while Ash's Charizard thirteen and a half.

"The largest Charizard in recorded history was I believe twenty-three feet and four inches! Most Charizard don't live or remain in fighting condition to reach that size, but both Cyril and Ash's pokemon seem to be fresh and at their peak."

Brock turned around to the professor to ask a few questions while the two Charizards took the time to gauge their opponent. With a fight so closely matched, they would need to fight conservatively and strategically. "Professor, how much do you know about Cyril and his pokemon?"

"Well, I remember watching his Master battle and what a battle that was! He was the youngest at age twenty-six to achieve Master status, though that record may be broken. Ash is the first in a very long time to bring Cyril to his last two pokemon and his strongest," Professor Oak began. "But to answer your question, Cyril is indeed a true pokemon Master. He has traveled across all four regions, much like Ash, winning league championships like running a hot knife through butter."

"It was that easy for him?"

"Easy? Easy for his first three pokemon."

By now Misty grew to the conversation and turned around to listen in. "His first three pokemon?"

"Yes," the professor continued. "Cyril hails from Hoenn and he started off just like Ash with his starter pokemon he received from professor Cosmo. I won't tell you what the pokemon is, you'll have to find out. But as I recall, he headed to Lavaridge for his first badge and picked up an egg, which turned out to be a charmander. Now keep in mind that this was within the first two days of his journey and as luck would have it, the egg hatched days later while he was training.

"So while Ash started with a stubborn Pikachu and then caught a Caterpie days later, Cyril started with a rather energetic and eager pokemon, hatched a charmander as his second pokemon and caught all of the native pokemon around Lavaridge."

"Yeah, Ash wasn't the best when he first started out," Misty said with a slight laugh. Even up to the Sinnoh league Ash never caught many pokemon, instead choosing to train a select few and use them for the league. But when he finished the Sinnoh League he left again on a search to catch as many different pokemon as he could before taking a break from his pokemon adventures. But later is better than never.

"Yes, well anyways Cyril then caught an aggressive poochyena, thus forming his permanent team. Those three stayed with him at all times becoming his strongest while he cycled through his many other pokemon to give them fighting experience. The last three he had on him were never as strong as his first three, but they are still formidable. As you can see, Cyril is so in tune with his pokemon that he doesn't need to direct them in battle. Only in extreme emergencies. Ah, it looks like this battle is finally gonna get started."

Both Charizards opened with a large flamethrower, both fiery blasts larger than any had every seen. The display of fire made Arcanine's earlier flames look like burning embers. As the two streams met at the center in a stalemate, the flames licked the ground and charred it black. Both dragons gave up their flames and immediately flew towards each other at the center. Ash's Charizard, spun around and whipped his massive tail into his opponent. His opponent responded with an upper cut with his even larger tail. Charizard stumbled back from the blow shaking his head from the momentary stun. He lunged forward at the same time as his larger counter part and the two locked claws.

Being smaller and weaker, Charizard struggled to fend off the giant dragon in front of him. His arms violently shook as he pushed against the other Charizard. Slowly the larger orange dragon began to press forward, forcing him back. Even as he dug his claws into the ground, his opponent had no trouble in pushing him back. He inhaled deeply and upon exhaling, released a large jet of flame point blank at the unsuspecting dragon. Though the attack itself would deal no damage, it did set his large opponent off balance. He spread his wings and flapped them to give him an extra boost as he pushed off the ground with his feet.

Instead of taking to the sky, he kept his grip tight on his opponent and began to push him back towards the center of the field where they first started. However in mid flight, he felt his opponent steady himself on the ground and then spin around, taking him with it. Not being grounded had left him susceptible to being man handled so easily. The Charizard released him after gaining momentum and he soared across the field uncontrollably. He was thrown with so much force that he could not right himself in time to salvage a safe landing. The call of his trainer greeted his ears as the worry for his safety easily penetrated his voice. He curled up his body and tucked his wings around his body so that he would not injure himself more than he needed to. He hit the ground with a great crash, up heaving the dirt of the battlefield. The force of the impact caused him to tumble like a ball before skidding to a stop, sending chunks of dirt flying in all directions.

Brock leaned forward in his seat as he watched the exchange of power. With both pokemon being extremely powerful fire types and resilient to their element, he did not expect to see much of a firefight. His speculation was confirmed with Cyril's Charizard didn't even blink at a flamethrower to the face. He gripped the armrests of his seat as his friend cried out for his rocketing Charizard. The strength Cyril's pokemon displayed was incredible. He had never seen anything like it, not even during a championship match. He watched with apprehension as he waited for Charizard to recover from his nasty tumble. He needed to at least whittle down Cyril's pokemon as much as he could before Pikachu took the field. Pikachu was strong, he did not doubt that, but Cyril's Charizard just had to step on the electric mouse to end the battle.

"Come on Charizard!" He shouted without thinking. "Show 'em who's boss!"

Charizard slowly pushed off the ground shaking his head from the dizzying tumble. He spread his wings and flexed them to make sure he was alright. They were sore, but it was nothing he couldn't block out with an adrenaline rush. He looked towards his opponent who arrogantly cocked his head skyward. He then began to spread his larger wings and flap them casually, a gesture meaning that he was bored of the fight. His blood began to boil as he knowingly fell for his opponent's taunt. He knew he needed to be level headed in this fight, there was too much at stake for him to make mistakes. But he had been used to being the strongest for so long in the Charific Valley that a challenge to his dominance was unacceptable.

He quickly got to his feet and flapped his wings and released a jet of flame skyward. His opponent reacted with a yawn, further curdling his mood. He pushed off the ground and this time took to the sky on his trainer's command. With him being smaller and more agile, his advantage would lie in the air, where his opponent wouldn't have the ground to plant his defense. He grinned at his trainer's theory. Ash had improved so much since they met eight years ago. Upon his evolution where he had become much stronger, he wasn't completely satisfied with Ash's capability as a strong trainer. As a boy, he always seemed narrow minded, never really thinking things through and expecting his desired outcome. It was what led him to be disobedient for all those years.

It wasn't until he saw how much Ash truly cared for him, even after he had treated his trainer with disrespect. Ash worked tirelessly to unfreeze him and help him pull through when he was on the verge of giving up. It was that night when he saw the change in his trainer and came to accept him. His respect for his trainer only grew as they continued traveling together winning and losing battles. Leaving him for the Charific Valley was the hardest thing he had ever done. But fighting that stronger Charizard had opened his eyes. He was not strong. Charla dispatched him before he had a chance to register what had happened. He wanted to get stronger, but he did not want to leave Ash.

But over the years he achieved his goal. He grew stronger and more levelheaded. He was still easily provoked, but he retained his senses to obey orders. He had become the strongest of the Valley, and as it had turned out, Ash had become one of the strongest trainers. Together, with the others, they became champions. And now, he would be Ash's stepping stone to Master status. His opponent, a larger and stronger Charizard, would fall just like the last. This was his last obstacle in being the strongest, and he would overcome it.

He spun away from a wide jet of flame and then barrel-rolled away from another. He looked down to see the Charizard launching flamethrower after flamethrower without taking to the sky. He was slightly surprised by the distance of the attack since he was near the top of the domed stadium. His own flame would have died out at this height. He looked down towards his trainer who ordered him to dive while avoiding the attacks. He obeyed and after peaking at the top of the dome, he began his descent. He began to dive bomb towards his opponent, continuing to barrel roll away from each flamethrower.

As he rapidly approached his grounded opponent, he initiated his attack upon Ash's order. His wings began to glow and they glazed over in steel coating. Just before he went to crash into the ground, he pulled up and slammed his wings into his opponent's chest. After the attack he climbed his way back to the top ready for another round. He needed to bait the larger Charizard off the ground and into the sky where he had the advantage.

"Alright Charizard. He wants you to bring the fight to him. Show him that is a big mistake!" Cyril shouted.

Charizard looked down at his opponent as he stayed aloft in a large circular motion. His opponent seemed slightly shaken from his strong attack, but continued unhindered. He spread his massive wingspan and pushed off the ground. What came next, completely threw him off guard. His opponent cut through the air. With each flap of his mighty wings, his larger counterpart drew even closer. Reacting quickly he took the advantage of the high ground and dove towards his rising opponent. He opened his jaw with a flamethrower and thrust it downward, while his opponent countered with the same, just as he was hoping for.

It took a lot of his strength to go against the stream of fire, but as they closed in, his wings began to glow again with the same metallic coating. Upon the pass through, they both cut their flames and he struck out with his heavy wings. His attack only grazed his opponent's shoulder, but he had sustained a crushing iron tail to his back after the pass through. He struggled to right himself and looked behind him to see where his opponent was. To his dismay, the larger orange dragon was closing in for another attack, mimicking his past ones with glowing steel wings. He pressed forward as fast as he could to avoid the attack. With the help of Ash, he was able to know when to dodge before the attack would connect. He dipped to his left and did a complete u turn, safely avoiding the steel wing. But from there he was forced on the defensive until he could somehow gain an opening.

* * *

Brock absentmindedly attended the skillets scrambling eggs, sausages, and bacon. He worked mechanically as he kept the eggs moving and flipped the bacon and sausage when he needed to. Four pieces of golden crisp toast popped from the toaster and he expertly buttered them before stacking two on one plate and two on another. He grabbed the skillet with eggs and sprinkled it with sharp cheddar cheese before removing it from the oven burner. When the bacon was nice a crisp but not too crunchy he divided it evenly on the two plates: three strips each. Once the sausage links were done he also placed three on each plate. He made sure to turn off the burners and then turned his attention to the finished eggs. The cheese was nicely melted over the eggs to the point where it wasn't overbearing but not nonexistent. A perfect medium.

He cut the eggs down the middle with a spatula and loaded each chunk onto the separate plates. He carried the plates into the dinning room and placed them on an already set table with silverware, napkins, and a full glass of orange juice. The dining room wasn't very large, however it was very ornate. A long rectangular table stood at its center with one chair at both short ends of the table and three on each long end. A small but elaborate chandelier hung from over head. A china cabinet full of fine wares lined the far wall while various stands lined the wall next to the kitchen entrance. Paintings of elaborate landscapes and pokemon lined the walls just for the simple fact of taking up space. Along the many stands were figurines of water pokemon or small framed pictures of any one of the Waterflower sisters.

He took his seat at the head of the table and waited for the next empty chair to be filled. Life in Cerulean was far different than it was in Pewter. Living in the gym with his best friend was even more different. He felt it was necessary for him to move in with the Waterflower sisters. Perhaps it was his caring older brother nature that compelled him to be with Misty in her time of need. Regardless, he was glad of his decision. Forrest was proving to be more than capable running a gym in Pewter with his own pokemon. He had even opened his own breeding center in Cerulean.

Finally he heard soft footsteps hit the tiled floor in the kitchen. He didn't turn to greet his friend when she entered the dinning room, and instead waited for her to sit with him at the table. It was a tactic of his to get her to eat breakfast with him. Usually she would take her breakfast with her to her room or skip the meal altogether. But when he went out of his way to fix them both breakfast and wait at the table, he knew she could not pass it over. The beautiful redhead took her seat to his right and gave him a bright smile. Her hair was still ruffled from sleep and controlled only by a hair tie in a ponytail. She wore her usual light blue robe over her nightclothes.

"Good morning," he said with a slight smile. He took a moderate bite from the sausage. Perfect.

"Good morning," she said quietly digging into her own food.

Looking at her now, she looked placid. Her eyes were distant and thoughtful yet she carried no sort of frown. Anyone who did not know her wouldn't think anything was wrong with her. They would see a beautiful young woman who is very sweet and reserved. But that was not Misty, as only Brock and a few others would know. She used to be fiery and passionate. Ambitious and arrogant. Hot headed too. But ever since Ash left, she hadn't been the same. For that alone, he resented Ash. He missed the old Misty. He missed the insults, the beatings, the playful yet heated competition. Without him here with her, he couldn't even imagine how she would be. While he had managed to move on to a certain degree, Misty had not.

Sometimes he wished he could track Ash down and knock some sense into him and bring him back. He broke Misty's heart when he left and she never fully recovered. He wondered if Ash still thought about her? He had too. She was all he could think about during their Hoenn and Sinnoh travels. But they hadn't even heard from him in five years. They had seen him on the news as Master, but that was it. Like his predecessor, he spent months intensely training to defend his status. The most recent news had said that Ash left for Mt. Silver a few days ago.

"Do you have work today?" Misty asked interrupting him from his thoughts.

"Uh yeah. I have to go in at two to check up on things. I may have to leave town for a while," he lied. "A center in Viridian is having maintenance trouble. I may have to go try and calm the pokemon if they can't get it under control." He said the story coming to him more easily now.

"Oh. You didn't mention that before," she looked at him while continuing to eat.

"The call came late last night. It'll only be for a week or two though. You can manage that much without me right?"

She laughed, and it wasn't a fake one. "So my babysitter is going out of town for two weeks? I guess I'm gonna have to throw a few parties."

Brock shook his head and smiled. "Ha ha, very funny. Do you have any scheduled matches today?"

This elicited a heavy sigh from the water gym leader. "Yeah. I'm booked from twelve to five. Of course more than half of those are rookie trainers. I can't give away a match with my newer pokemon, yet I can't make it impossible for them either. Most of the time I have to stage it to look like a close match just to keep their spirits high."

Brock grinned as he recalled his own brutal tactics as a gym leader. He remembered he would show no mercy by sicking his onix on a rattata or a pidgey. A gym match wasn't supposed to be easy. If a trainer came in unprepared, then they should be taught a valuable lesson about pokemon battles. He taught Ash that lesson years ago, and the young trainer had learned from it, using his surroundings to move the battle to his advantage. But Misty meant well and she was never one to purposefully put another down, especially a new trainer.

"Well it must be all the more rewarding when those strong trainers come around."

"Yeah, I guess you do have a point. Those matches always come down to Gyarados, win or lose." She stacked her silverware on her empty plate and stood up. "Thank you for breakfast Brock. Do you need help cleaning up?"

"No I got it. Go ahead and tend to your pokemon. You both need to be ready for the long day ahead of you," he said standing as well and taking both of their plates to the kitchen.

Misty watched him leave slightly perplexed about his behavior. He was acting strange this morning. In fact he had been acting strange ever since they saw Ash on the news a few days ago. The Master trainer looked haggard and exhausted beneath his black cloak. He spoke with great disinterest as he answered a myriad of questions. His departure from their lives had impacted both her and Brock greatly on different levels. She had loved him and he had loved her, but his grief forced himself to close out the rest of the world, including her. Everything seemed so perfect when she was with him, and his leaving had torn her apart. Her perfect world was no more.

But she felt that Brock held the worst of Ash's leaving. Though she never admitted it to anyone, she had overheard a heated fight between the two friends right after his victory over Cyril. While Ash had remained with her a few weeks afterwards, it was not the same with Brock. He had ended their friendship that night, blaming Brock unfairly and not speaking to him again. He at least said good-bye to her, as painful as it was, but nothing to Brock. She knew that even though Brock retained his calm and cool exterior, he was devastated on the inside. Everyone knew it wasn't Brock's fault, but she began to wonder if he really did blame himself for all that had happened. Maybe spending two weeks with pokemon would take his mind off of whatever troubled him.

* * *

Charizard looked behind him to finally see his opponent slow and tire. He had tired greatly as well and soon enough it would come down to one final attack for either of them to finish the battle. He turned a hard right, avoiding another taxing flamethrower. His opponent expertly followed him, keeping on his tail the entire time. Throughout the entire ordeal he had not been able to shake his opponent once. He waited for Ash to give him orders, hoping his trainer would be able to find an opening that he could not. He had done well fighting on his own in the air, however he just grew too tired to extensively plan out any strategy.

Then it came. He looked down at his trainer to catch his next orders and then executed them. He slowed his pace, allowing the larger and the now slower Charizard to catch up with him. He winced as he felt a strong flamethrower lick his back, but resisted. Then with a sudden burst of energy he pulled a loop, causing him to be right on top of his opponent. He reached out quickly before his opponent had a chance to react and wrapped one arm around the larger dragon's neck and the other across its chest, also neutralizing its left wing. He pumped his wings hard as they began to gain altitude, the stronger Charizard's struggling not making the task any easier. However he managed to gain enough momentum for his seismic toss, looping several times before starting a rapid plummet to the ground below.

Ash clenched his fists as he watched his Charizard successfully snare Cyril's into the seismic setup. Sweat drenched his face as breathed heavily from exhaustion. He chanced a glance at Cyril who remained just as cool and refreshed as when the battle started over three hours ago. While he was beginning to lose his voice from shouting commands, Cyril watched silently, not breaking a sweat as his pokemon fought on their own accord. Was that what it was like to be a pokemon Master? To be so in tune with your pokemon that they don't need to rely on their trainer for direction? This matched would be close either way, but if he did become victorious, would he ever attain that level of mastery?

The roaring crowd interrupted him of his thought and again he turned his focus to the battle. Charizard released his opponent at the last second to send his opponent into the ground while he could land safely. A dust cloud rose from the heavy impact and Ash waited impatiently for it to part. He looked towards Charizard who now stood several meters in front of him panting heavily from exhaustion. Cyril also came to the edge of his trainer square and shouted for his pokemon, but no response came. As the dirt cleared, all that remained on the battlefield was a large crater where the impact occurred.

The crowd quieted when a slender orange arm reached forward from the crater and began to pull itself from the hole. Cyril seemed to relax as his pokemon clawed its way back to its feet. Ash stood with his jaw hanging, hoping the battle was finished with that last attack. He waited, hoping the Charizard would collapse after a dramatic stand off, but it still looked ready for a fight. Barely, but it still had strength left over. It would now come down to the last attack. Whoever could land it, would be the victor.

"Alright Charizard. It looks like our chances are slim. It'll be your first loss in a long time," Cyril said to his pokemon. "Let's not give them that satisfaction. If you're gonna go down, take him with you."

Cyril's Charizard nodded and widened its stance for balance. He opened his mighty maw and began to collect a small fire. His tail flame fully ignited then slowly spread to the rest of his body until it was fully ablaze. Ash watched, completely unaware of the potency of the attack. He knew it to be strong, but how much so he was unsure. It obviously called for Charizard to use his strongest attack as a counter, but a flare blitz could be a devastating mistake.

"Charizard, give off the strongest Fire Blast you can make!"

"Now Charizard, finish this with your Blast Burn!"

As Charizard unleashed the five pronged fire attack, Cyril's attack was all the greater. The flames that surrounded his Charizard all accumulated to his mouth and then exploded forth, like a fiery hyper beam. It was by far the greatest fire attack anyone had ever seen as it collided with an equally strong fire blast. If Cyril had ordered that attack at the start of the match, it would go unchecked, but because of Charizard's weakened state, it was not at its full potential. Both attacks met at the center and accumulated into a giant swirling ball of fire.

Both pokemon seemed to release their attacks at the same time, no longer able to fuel their fire, but the orb remained. After a few seconds the orb began to shrink and then exploded in a mass of flames as sparks were sent flying everywhere. The crowd shrieked as flames landed just feet away from the stadium seats. With both attacks neutralized, both pokemon threatened to fall over from exhaustion. Their finishing moves had been thwarted and now neither could find the strength to move. Then finally Cyril's Charizard fell to one knee and hung its head in defeat.

"And Cyril's Charizard is unable to battle! Ash's Charizard takes the match! What an incredible battle! It will now come down to this last match up! But what will Ash choose to do now?"

"Charizard, that's enough," Ash said bringing out his pokeball but stopped when Charizard roared. Charizard flexed his wings as his opponent retreated to the sideline with the defeated Mightyena. "But you don't have the strength to continue." Again his Charizard roared with renewed vigor. "Alright, you want to fight, then lets go!"

"And Ash is choosing to keep his Charizard in play! Perhaps he is hoping to gain the edge when he has to send in his last pokemon!"

"I commend you Charizard. What you accomplished was no easy task." Cyril said pulling a pure white pokeball from his belt. A red Z was etched over the center lock. "But you're gonna regret not listening to Ash. Zan will not show you any mercy." He tossed the pokeball onto the field and out came a five foot Zangoose. It had a unique red Z etched across its stomach as well as a red X over its right eye. While just birth marks on the fur, it gave the sense that they were scars from battle.

Charizard looked down at his opponent and grinned at his superior size. He may be tired, but he could easily crush this smaller opponent. Or so he thought. Zan began to scrape its long red claws against each other, sharpening them for the battle. It then got down on all fours and waited for him to make the first move. He took in a deep breath and launched a powerful flamethrower across the field, seemingly engulfing the cat ferret pokemon in flames. The flames parted however as Zan swiped at them, the sheer speed of his swipes creating enough gust to send them away. Zan then held out a claw and beckoned Charizard forward with an arrogant smirk.

Ash swallowed as he inspected the Zangoose. It looked very intimidating and was not to be taken lightly. Charizard's best bet would to be in the air, but he was far too exhausted for that. He would have to remain on the ground and be close enough to over power the Zangoose. But something in his gut told him that the moment Charizard got within Zangoose's striking range, the match would be over. "Are you watching closely Pikachu? You'll be fighting him next. So observe his movements carefully. I'll try to get as much as I can, but Charizard won't last long. Charizard go in close for a dragon claw!"

Charizard did as told and began to rush Zan, his claws glowing a deep blue. Zan responded by standing on its hind legs, its own claws glowing a deep purple. A shadow claw. As Charizard lunged forward, Zan jumped to the side and then struck out, catching Charizard's right side. The force of the attack also sent Charizard off balance and vulnerable. Zan took this to charge again, jumping overhead to avoid a flamethrower and delivering another shadow claw to Charizard's other side, again tilting him off balance. Zan bolted again, gaining speed on all fours with his claws growing a bright white. He scampered up Charizard's back and jumped skyward. As he came down, he brought both glowing claws to slam on top of Charizard's head. The larger orange dragon immediately collapsed to the ground unconscious.

Ash stood shocked as Charizard remained unmoving. Reluctantly he brought up the pokeball to return his friend. "That was a helluva fight buddy. I'm proud of you," he said before returning the ball to his belt. He watched Zan eagerly flick its tail as its eyes were locked on Pikachu. This pokemon was a fighter. Like his Charizard, it probably wanted to be the best and fight the best, always looking for a stronger opponent. Pikachu would have a very hard time on this deciding match. "Alright Pikachu. This is your battle to finish. Win or lose, I know you can do it. I leave it to you." He knew he was crazy for trying such a thing doing the most important battle of his life. But he had been with Pikachu for eight years. Their bond was the strongest and he wouldn't have made it this far without him.

"Pika?" Pikachu looked up at him. He knelt down and picked up his friend and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm going to let you decide the outcome of this match. I know you can win. I believe in you buddy. You were there since the very beginning, as a stubborn little rat and you'll be there till the end as the best friend I could ever ask for." He stood and let his friend rush to the center of the field, cheeks sparking with electricity. He never imagined it would come down to this. His Master title match coming down to their last pokemon. After seeing Cyril's Mightyena, his hope began to diminish. But after Charizard's victory he believed he had a chance. Cyril seemed to think so as well as he took a more focused and aggressive stance. It all came down to their faithful starters.

* * *

Brock headed to the front door with a small traveling pack on his back. "Hey Mist, I'm heading out now. Try and stay out of trouble while I'm gone."

"Yeah, because I'm such a trouble maker. Have fun! Let me know when you get there," she shouted from the indoor poolroom.

Brock quickly left and hopped into an old white Toyota pick-up. He knew his chances were slim, but he had given himself a two-week window opportunity to accomplish his task. He fiddled with his GPS until he found Mt. Silver on the map and selected it as his destination. It was a three-hour drive to Viridian and then an additional four hours to the base of Mt. Silver.

* * *

"Is everything in place?"

"Yes. On your word, I'll detonate the explosives and we can drop in for the steal."

"Great. They're down to their last pokemon. Stay on channel 7. I'll head back down and keep an eye on things."

"Roger that."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here is the conclusion to this little fic that I really just came up with on the spot and well hopefully it turns out pretty well. You'll get Misty's perspective on the present as well as the conclusion of Ash and Cyril's match as well as the tragic event that made everything the way it is. And finally a long needed confrontation. I don't know how long this chapter will be, but everything will end here. Enjoy.

* * *

Misty stared at the bland ceiling of the Cerulean Gym as she drifted on her back in the large pool in the stadium sized room. Her pokemon swam around her in glee as they splashed and played with each other. Every day during her off time before matches, she would float in the massive pool losing herself in the same thoughts she had every day. Where is he now? What is he doing? Is he well? Does he ever think about her? But the one question that weighed heavily on her shoulders each time was one she couldn't even guess the answer. Will he ever come back?

Through the news she learned that he was heading to Mt. Silver for intense training for an exhibition match in the next few months, where he will be expected to fight numerous battles in a row against the strongest trainers around in a televised event. There is one held every year to test and display the Master's mettle and prowess in pokemon battles. And every year since Ash's Master status, she would watch the multi-hour marathon non-stop until his victory at the end. Knowing him, he was probably already deep in the mountain's training his Master team of five. She vividly remembered watching one interview in which a reporter had asked Ash why he never sought a six member of his team. The mixture of rage and sorrow on his face told her that he still tormented himself over all these years.

"No one can replace the partner I lost that day," Ash had said in an angered tone before storming off the interviewing stand. The complaints of other reporters were directed towards the first as the Master had only answered two questions before hand. But if she thought this much about him, even after five years of hearing nothing from him, then he surely must have thought about her, about the life he chose to leave behind. That parting night he tore at his soul and broke her heart. It was a nightmare she relived more often than she would have liked.

_The stars glimmered in the dark night sky. A gentle breeze felt cool on the warm summer night. Two figures stood alone outside a small house in Pallet, the windows darkened signaling that the residents were asleep at the late hour. A tall raven haired man held his beautiful orange haired partner tightly under the dark night sky. The half moon illuminated the earth around them, and if the woman looked at her love's face, she would see the sparkle of a few stray tears. Before releasing their embrace, the man casually wiped away his tears. They had spent the entire day together, and now he prepared himself for their final moments together._

_"Mist," he began his voice soft as a whisper. He smiled weakly as the half moonlight struck her beautiful face, her aquamarine eyes sparkling in brilliance. He gently wrapped his hands around her waist, still not taking his eyes off hers. "I love you and I always will love you."_

_Misty smiled and felt her cheeks heat up. She had long grown used to being with Ash in a romance, yet such intimacy was seldom seen from her partner. So much so that it was very strange hearing it from him. She leaned forward and gave him quick but loving kiss. "I love you too. Now what is this all about? This isn't what I would normally expect from you. Especially considering the density of that thick skull of yours."_

_Ash smiled at the playful insult. This was out of the ordinary for him. He had practiced this in front of a mirror for weeks so that when the time came he would be strong and carry out his plan. But even now he felt his will crumble. She truly loved him and he was about to throw it back at her face. She would probably never forgive him and hate him forever. With one friendship lost and another ruined, what is one more? But they are closer than friends, much closer. Leaving her seemed like hell itself. Perhaps they were truly meant to be together. Perhaps they were soul mates, if there ever is such a thing. Regardless, these next few moments will be painful._

_"Mist," he pulled a pokeball from his belt with blue mixed in with the red. A lure ball. "Do you remember when we fought over this?"_

_Misty looked at the pokeball wearily, not knowing what to expect from Ash. "Yes. Ash what's going on?" She felt her heart begin to race and her mouth run dry. She could not explain it, but something deep inside her told her this evening would not end well. Was it her woman's intuition? Whatever it was, she prayed with all her might that it was wrong._

_Ash took her hand and placed the pokeball in her hand. "I want you to have him. I'll never forget you Mist, and I'll always love you."_

_"What are you talking about Ash?" her eyes began to water and her chest tightened._

_"I can't take it anymore Mist. No matter how hard I try, I can never be truly happy. I love you with all I have, yet I still feel empty. You don't deserve that and I won't drag you down with me." By now he could not hold back his own tears. He reached out to brush aside a droplet running down Misty's cheek. The hurt look on her face seemed to send a crack straight through his heart. When she pulled away from his touch, he felt as though his heart had shattered to a million pieces. "Good bye Mist." He released his large orange dragon and hopped on his back ordering him to fly immediately. He took one last glance at his heartbroken love before forcing himself to look forward. This was it. This was the beginning of his exile. He would find solace in his pokemon and in solitude._

_Misty watched Ash leave, her jaw clenched shut as she tried to contain her sobs. She fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands as she could contain herself no more. She cried out her sobs pierced the serene night. The house lights flicked on and out rushed Brock and Delia Ketchum. Delia quickly collapsed to the ground and wrapped herself around the sobbing redhead to comfort her while Brock stared up into the night sky, his eyes following a faint orange glow. His brow briefly contorted in anger but as Misty's cries reached his ears, he turned his attention to comfort his devastated friend._

As the event began to overwhelm her mind, her eyes watered and her chest tightened as if her heart were to burst. Why was it that her mended heart felt as if it were breaking again at a simple memory? She wiped the tears from her eyes, determined not to give in so easily to something she was supposedly long over. At first she cried until she could cry no more. She would not eat and only sleep until exhaustion took her. When she replenished the tears, she let them fall once more. Eventually she got a hold of herself and composed herself well enough to not break down anymore. Battling was a great way to distract her mind, until she ran into another one of those headstrong over confident new trainers that reminder her so much of Ash as a kid. But now she felt in control. Though the memory was one she would never be able to forget and though it brought her sorrow every time she thought of it, she would not let it consume her. Not anymore.

A scaly body brushed up against her breaking her away from her thoughts. A large blue alligator surfaced right next to her with her hand over its snout. She stroked the smooth scales of the feraligator that she had received as a totodile so long ago. Though she loved the pokemon as she did all her others, she wished that Ash had at least held onto him in his self imposed exile. Feraligator turned out to be her second strongest pokemon next to Gyarados. While he made her gym all the more challenging for trainers, he would have better use being with Ash in the dangerous Mt. Silver.

"You must be the gym leader Misty?" A teenage boy's voice echoed throughout the large room. "Sorry if I'm a little early for our match. I just wanted to get an idea of the setting."

Misty jerked up, slightly startled by the new voice and began to tread water. She looked to see a boy, roughly sixteen, scoping out the pool before turning his determined gaze towards her. He had crazy brown hair like he lost a fight with some gel and a hair dryer and deep almond eyes. She knew those eyes to belong to a strong and confident trainer. This battle would be a thrilling one and she couldn't help but smile.

"Yes, I am Misty. You must be the Johto trainer," she swam to the edge of the pool and gently lifted herself out. She held out her hand for an introduction and noticed that the boy shook it all while turning a light pink. A slight grin crossed her face as her slender yet curvy form obviously made the boy slightly uncomfortable. The fact that she was wearing a bikini also seemed to play a heavy role.

"Nice to, um, meet you. I'm Matt," the teenage boy said forcing himself to retain eye contact.

"Well Matt, you still aren't scheduled for another ten minutes, so you can use that time to warm up, or we can begin now if you wish."

"We're ready," Matt said eagerly. "We've been training for this match for a while now."

"Good. I've been waiting for a decent match. Take your place on the platform over there and we'll begin immediately." As Matt hurried to his end of the pool, Misty made her way to the side stands where her clothes were and hastily pulled on a white tank top and a pair of low cut shorts. She then made her way to her end of the pool and motioned her pokemon out of the water. Once settled on her platform she gave a thumbs up to a press box at the very top of the stands. The water in the pool began to bubble and several large concrete platforms surfaced.

"This match will be between Cerulean Gym leader Misty Waterflower and Johto challenger Matthew Warner, rank six in the Johto cup," a male voice stated over the speakers. "This will be a modified league match, three pokemon each, no items and no switch outs. Contestants must remain in the pool boundaries at all times. Trainers, please select your first pokemon."

"Rank six in the Johto cup huh? That means you're qualified for the Elite Four," Misty stated as she called forth Golduck from the side lines. The blue duck pokemon eagerly jumped into the water and disappearing into the blue depths.

"Yeah. All ten of us took the challenge. Some didn't make it past Will and Koga. Only three of us beat Karen, but Lance trashed us. I figured I should get the Kanto badges before taking on the Elite four again." Matt threw a pokeball towards one of the platforms on the pool and out came a short yellow and black pokemon with a head shaped like a plug. The elekid charged a few sparks on its head ready for the win.

"An electric pokemon? Good choice, but that doesn't mean it'll guarantee you the match."

"Trainer's ready?" The male voice boomed over the speaker. "Begin!"

Elekid started off by sending a thunderbolt into the pool, hoping to zap the golduck submerged within, but golduck speedily leapt out of the pool and onto a platform before the electrical surge coursed through the water. Once he landed he pushed off with his flippers and went headlong at his opponent, his cranium glowing a bright purple. Elekid couldn't stop its attack in enough time to dodge the Zen headbutt and was sent into the pool of water. Golduck followed by firing an ice beam around elekid, freezing him in a solid block of ice. Matt seemed stunned that he had lost so quickly especially after he had the type advantage, but a broad grin quickly formed on his face.

"Alright Elekid, return," Matt said while pulling out another ball from his belt. "Go Gliscor."

"A Gliscor? That is a very interesting choice," Misty said as she observed her team on the sideline. "Then I choose Corsola!" As Golduck jumped from the pool, Corsola dived in and landed on the platform watching her opponent fly overhead.

Gliscor dove toward Corsola with his claws glowing a deep purple, a poison jab attack. Corsola narrowly jumped aside and fired a bubblebeam at her passing opponent. Gliscor's aerial mobility allowed him to turn away from the attack and dive for another. Corsola wasn't as fortunate this time around and fell victim to a fierce night slash. Corsola began to generate rocks from its coral skin and hurled them at her winged opponent but it was to no avail. Gliscor flew in circles over head taunting Corsola into expending her energy. He was simply two high up to effectively attack. Gliscor came down for one last round, now the coral pokemon was thoroughly exhausted. Misty had ordered her pokemon to jump into the water to recover, yet was too slow to dodge a power cross poison strike. Corsola landed in the water and surfaced belly side up, unconscious from the attack.

Misty grabbed her lure ball and recalled her fainted pokemon. "Corsola is one of my most experienced battlers. Your Gliscor is really tough, but you'll need your strongest for my last pokemon."

"I always save my strongest for last. He's been with me since the very beginning and will be with me when we become Master. You're up Typhlosion!"

Misty cringed. Ash had said that the day of his match. The day he lost something that could never be replaced. She watched the volcano pokemon flare up its mane of fire, undaunted by the pool of water around it that could be its downfall. It was a fool hardy move, something she would expect from Ash. Much like bringing a Pikachu to a rock gym. Pikachu.

"Gator! Rahh!" Feraligator growled puffing out his chest.

"Do you want to fight? Sure why not. Sorry Gyarados, you'll get the next one," Misty said as the giant water dragon growled in disappointment. Feraligator jumped into the pool and swam to the platform. "You must be really confident to send a fire type to a water gym."

"I told you, we've been practicing a lot for this moment. And I'll show you."

Misty smiled. "Alright then let's get started! Feraligator use hydro pump!"

Feraligator opened its massive maw and unleashed a powerful torrent of water. Typhlosion crouched down on all fours and jumped to the next platform. The fire pokemon then begin to make its way across the pool jumping from platform to platform all while avoid the power hydro pump attacks. Feraligator finished its barrage as his opponent jumped on his platform and lashed out with his claws. The Typhlosion nimbly avoided the attack and tackled Feraligator with his flame covered body. The two pokemon continued to exchange close combat blows, with Typhlosion even taking a few up close water attacks. But despite being at the disadvantage, the fire type fought on determined to win.

Feralgator growled as another one of his powerful attacks missed his nimble opponent. He grunted as another flamewheel smashed him in the chest. He staggered back and then spun around with a powerful aqua tail, catching Typhlosion right in the jaw. The two pokemon lunged at each other and locked claws in a stalemate. Even with Feraligator's superior size, the two were still even in strength.

"Now, just like we practiced! Typhlosion, eruption!" Matt shouted.

Typhlosion began to glow a bright orange and the flame on its shoulders engulfed its entire body. Feraligator tried to back away but Typhlosion did not release its strong grip.

"Hurry Feraligator, into the water!" Misty frantically shouted. Feraligator picked up Typhlosion despite the excruciating burns and jumped into the water. The pool immediately began to boil and steam filled the stadium quickly. A mushroom cloud of water exploded upwards as it quickly evaporated to steam, the entire contents of the pool emptying to only a shallow puddle. It was an Olympic size pool with an added depth of thirty feet for Gyarados.

Misty shielded her eyes as the steam encased her body and she gasped for air finding it difficult to breathe. There was no way Feraligator could have come out of that intact. Of her opponents Typhlosion, she was also unsure. Thankfully the vents kicked into full gear to circulate the steam out of the giant room. Misty quickly scanned the empty pool, looking for her pokemon. Feraligator was on his side, his once light blue scales now scorched black. Typhlosion stood over his opponent panting heavily and almost ready to fall over, but willed itself to stand until the match was called.

Misty looked to the press box, waiting for the announcer to call the match, but he was probably too stunned at what had just happened. It had been a long time since she lost to a trainer after all. After a few more moments of silence, Misty decided she would call the match herself.

"Feraligator is unable to battle. Looks like you're the winner Matt," Misty said with a slight smile as she saw the excitement on the boy's face.

"Yes! Typhlosion you did it!" The volcano pokemon growled weakly before it was called back into the sanctuary of his ball.

"That was some attack Matt. It was so powerful, even underwater," Misty said walking up to the victorious trainer. It wouldn't have mattered if she sent in Gyarados in that battle. She still would have lost to such a powerful fire attack.

"Yeah, I had to wait until he was weak before I could use it. You see the healthier Typhlosion is, the stronger Eruption becomes. Even at half strength it would be enough to blow the roof off this place. It's his strongest move and my greatest weapon against Lance and then the pokemon Master himself!"

Misty smiled at his determination, the same determination she had remembered Ash having. That foolhardiness that would always start up playful arguments with each other. She knew Matt would go far and one day become a pokemon Master himself.

"Why don't you and your pokemon recover here for the night? It's been so long since I lost, it's the least I can do. And I'll get you your Cascade badge."

"Um, ok. That'd be really great! Typhlosion and elekid really took a beating out there."

"Don't worry. Our recovery bay is top notch, just like the ones at the pokemon center. They'll be fully recovered by tomorrow morning. Follow me, I'll show you around." Behind her the several concrete platforms in the pool that were held up by thick metal poles began to lower back into their niche at the bottom of the pool. Fresh water began to cycle back into the pool, but it would be hours more until it would be full again. So instead she recalled all of her pokemon back into their pokeballs.

As she led Matt out of the room and into the lobby of the gym, she stopped by the receptionist desk to quickly speak to the secretary who was managing something on a computer.

"Another win Ms. Waterflower?" the woman behind the desk said without looking at her employer.

"No. I lost actually," Misty said with a slight smirk. She was never one to like losing. Actually she hated losing, but this time, it felt nice, almost rewarding. The battle was so exciting, it didn't really matter if she won or lost. As her secretary fished through a drawer for a Cascade badge, Misty relayed another message. "And I'm gonna have to cancel the rest of the matches for today. The pool is, well, empty."

The secretary glanced towards Matt, whom she suspected the culprit and only nodded as she handed the boy the teardrop that was the Cascade badge. "I will let the other challengers know Ms. Waterflower. And congratulations on your victory."

Matt thanked her quietly as he followed Misty to another section of the gym that looked to be in the very back. She unlocked a door, which he suspected to be a typical front door of a house and followed her in. To his surprise, he was actually standing inside a house. A house that was actually built onto a gym.

Misty, catching Matt's curious stare, answered his most likely question. "It's a family run gym. Has been so for generations. So instead of coming to a fro every morning, I think my great grandfather built a house connecting to the gym."

"Wow. It must be so fun being a gym leader. Countless battles every day."

"Well a lot of it is battling new and inexperienced trainers and really teaching them an important lesson about pokemon battling. Trainers like you are hard to find. If I had the choice, I would gladly be on the road again. Traveling was so much more fun than this."

Matt looked at her curiously. Even though he was from Johto, he made sure to research all of Kanto's gym leaders. Misty was one of the strongest gym leader's in Kanto, which many analysts credit to her traveling with Ash Ketchum when he was just a new trainer. To think that he was actually talking with the Master's significant other. He suddenly got the fool notion that he might even get a chance to meet Ash, but that was not likely since he left for training days ago. Matt however did not know the terrible split between the two lovers years ago, for the media really never got a hold of that information.

"So what was it like traveling with Ash? I guess he wasn't a pokemon Master then, but it still must have been awesome," Matt said with a slight hint of admiration in his eyes.

Misty only laughed at his question. "If you were to meet Ash thirteen years ago, you would have never thought he would become a Pokemon Master. Those years when I traveled with him, he was such a reckless and inexperienced trainer. It was frustrating. But by the time we parted, he had at least grown a little as a trainer and person."

"You mean you didn't travel with him the whole time?"

Misty shook her head. "No. He went off to Hoenn by himself and that's when I took up Gym Leader again. That was so long ago. We were only fourteen I believe. I didn't see him for another two years until he won the Sinnoh League. After that he came back to Kanto and he was determined to take on the Elite Four and then the Master." A small smile crossed her face and Matt could not only hear, but also see the fondness Misty spoke of the Master. "He had changed so much over that small period of time, yet he still remained the same old Ash. In fact you remind me a lot about him when he was your age."

"Really?" Matt asked in slight surprise.

Misty nodded. "Quite a bit actually. Although you seem a little brighter than he was." She laughed slightly at the pleasant memories with her once ever so dense love. While she knew certain memories of him would bring her sorrow, so many more would bring her happiness, and it were those memories she would cherish. "I have a feeling that you'll go very far Matt. One day you'll become Master. But only if you never give up. Only if you keep pushing yourself until you can't any more. Like Ash did. And I'll be there rooting for you both," she said with a sweet smile.

Matt seemed to beam at her encouragement. "I will! I watched his battle with Master Cyril and I have every little detail memorized, from start to finish!" His smile faded as he really was telling the truth. He remembered Ash talking to the announcer, Cyril emerging on the stadium, the incredible battle between their pokemon, especial the final two. But he also remembered the tragic events afterwards.

* * *

Both Pikachu and Zangoose panted heavily as their bodies were covered in dirt and scrapes. There fur was ruffled from being thrown around from all sorts of attacks. But the match was nearing an end as both pokemon looked to have very little endurance left. Cyril's Zangoose sharpened its claws for a final attack boost that could fell Pikachu in one hit. The two pokemon stood on opposite ends of the field, staring each other down. Sparks began to fly from Pikachu's cheeks, but he knew better than to waste energy trying to hit an opponent that could easily dodge his thunderbolts.

There was a brief moment where time seemed to stop. The crowd had quieted and disappeared altogether. Everything outside of the arena was shaded or blurred. Then with a final burst of energy both pokemon sprinted forward. Zan's claws began to glow with a brilliant white, while Pikachu encased its entire body in electricity. They leapt at each other, Zan's claws against Pikachu's body. The force of the attack made both pokemon recoil backwards and tumbling once against across the field. This time both pokemon took a dramatic time to rise again to their feet.

Ash tensed as he saw Zangoose rise first, even after taking Pikachu's volt tackle head on for about the fifth time. Even as Pikachu slowly got on all fours, he still knew that either one could drop at any second. His chest thundered and he made a weak effort to clear the sweat from his brow. He was ready to drop from the stress of the battle. He knew Pikachu too had pushed far beyond his limit.

"Zangoose!" Cyril called out to his pokemon, catching everyone's attention. It would be the first command he had issued his faithful starter in the entire battle. "We're finished unless we can pull this off. Now use your Last Resort!"

"Counter it with your Volt Tackle! Put everything you've got left!" Ash shouted, also issuing Pikachu his first command.

Pikachu darted towards his opponent a large veil of electricity surrounding his entire body. At the same time Zangoose charged at Pikachu with a strange orange hue about its body. Both pokemon had hastened their attacks with agility and met at the center of the field in a way like none other had seen before. Zangoose struck forward with its claw, sending Pikachu backwards. But the electric rodent landed deftly on its feet and launched forward striking Zangoose straight in the chest. Pikachu kept up his attack making a sharp U-turn and went in for another strike as did Zangoose. Zan slammed his claw into Pikachu's side and Pikachu launched his skull into Zan's gut. Pikachu nicked Zan's side while Zan slashed at Pikachu's. Pikachu charged into Zan's chest and Zan ran his claws down Pikachu's back. Blows were exchanged left and right as neither pokemon refused to crack. Zan struck out with both claws on one last pass through, ending his attack just like Pikachu.

Both pokemon stood facing their trainer, panting heavily and bleeding just slightly. Ash looked into Pikachu's eyes to see a fire still burning strong despite his physical condition. Finally after several minutes of intense silence, Zangoose collapsed to the ground. Pikachu fell to his back and began to cry out in joy, while Ash fell to his knees trying to hold in his tears. The crowd erupted all around them as the announcer roared into his megaphone, declaring Ash the winner of the match and the new Pokemon Master.

There was a rumble throughout the stadium and the crowd quickly went from a roaring cheer to a shrill panic. Ash struggled to steady himself as the tremors continued. An explosion was heard, drowning out the panicking cries. Ahs covered his ears as several other explosions went off somewhere within the domed stadium. Bits of steel and cement began to fall from the top of the dome and onto the field below. Immediately Ash called for Pikachu, but his voice could not carry through the screams of fleeing spectators. Pikachu seemed to have fainted shortly after he was declared victor and could do nothing to avoid the debris that fell dangerously close. Cyril had already called back his Zangoose into the safety of his pokeball and Ash cursed himself for not carrying Pikachu's pokeball with him. A support beam came crashing down next to him sending him off of his feet. The center of the dome was crumbling, and if he didn't act, Pikachu would be crushed. Acting on his impulses he rushed forward.

Brock jumped in the air as Ash was declared Pokemon Master. He turned to the beautiful redhead next to him and embraced her in a hug and she shouted at the top of her lungs. Even Gary behind them was hollering in support. But in this celebratory moment, Brock caught sight of an individual that made him freeze. A man covered in all black with a red R plastered on his chest spoke into a walkie talkie. A rocket in plain sight? Were they going to attack now? Then there was a rumble and his attention went upwards to several explosions of the domed ceiling.

"Get out of here now!" Brock shouted as small rocks of cement began to fall around them from the explosion. As his friends began to file out of the seats, he looked back towards Ash whose gaze was on his unconscious Pikachu. He glanced up to see a large slab of concrete fall dangerously close to the electric rodent. He knew what would happen. Ash was reckless enough to do it. Without thinking Brock leapt off the two story balcony they were on. As soon as his feet touched the ground he tucked into a roll to minimize any injury. Unfortunately as he landed there was a loud crack that he heard, but regardless he limped after his friend who had been knocked off balance by a large metal beam. Brock hobbled on one leg, just several paces away from Ash and just as the new Master began to take his first step to his death, he tackled his friend to the ground.

"Ash stop!" Brock shouted and he struggled to use his lager body to keep Ash from rushing out into the field.

"Let me go!" Ash roared as he tried to break free from the man's grasp. But the breeder's arms were tightly wrapped around his body and slowly Pikachu was beginning to fade from his view.

"No Ash! You'll get crushed!" Brock said as he tightened his hold of the young trainer. He kicked off with his good leg to push them towards the exit, where he could hear the others yell for him.

"Let me go! Pikachu!" The center of the dome finally gave way and large amounts of concrete and metal support beams came crashing down onto the field, kicking up dust and obscuring all vision. "Pikachu… no," Ash said weakly as he watched the carnage slowly entomb his beloved partner. At that moment, all of his resistance fled his body and he remained limp in Brock's hold as he watched the last of the wreckage fall.

Gary Oak rushed from the double doors leading to the stadium along with prof. Oak, Misty and even Tracey in tow. Gary picked Ash off of Brock while the professor and his assistant helped Brock to his feet. Misty began to approach Ash, but the young trainer ran off to the debris covered field now that the worst had passed. She would have followed him but Gary stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Not just yet," he pointed to two rocket members that stood atop a mound of rubble. "He'll need your support, but now he needs to lash out." Misty didn't catch his meaning at first, but as she looked at the wreckage, she knew Pikachu could not have survived. And it were those two vile men that were to blame. She felt tears form and she reached for a pokeball in her bag, just in case.

"Alright Ketchum. Hand over your prized pokemon. You are in no condition to resist us," the rocket with flaming red hair under his black cap spoke out.

"If you don't comply, your friends are next," the rocket with black hair said reaching for a firearm on his hip.

Ash ignored the two and immediately began tearing away at the rumble, pushing aside large slabs of concrete and fractured support beams. The rockets seemed infuriated by this, but he continued on until he saw something beneath the rubble. He reached in the small cave he had made and felt slimy and damp fur. He recoiled at first but proceeded to carefully pull the form out.

Pikachu was unmoving in his arms, his once yellow fur covered in a dark crimson, a mixture of blood and dirt. He gently caressed the rodent as not even the slightest breath passed through its tiny lungs. Tears welled up in his eyes as he felt the blood of an open wound drip into his lap. His best friend was dead. He could feel the crushed bones even as he held him. He was struck with sorrow, as if he had been shot in the chest. But his sorrow passed rather quickly and he was consumed with an unexplainable rage. He wanted blood.

The dark haired rocket finished his rant and drew his gun and pointed it at Ash, while the red hair rocket aimed it at the others, preventing them from taking action. "Now I'm not going to repeat myself. Give us your pokemon or I will simply take it from your corpse."

Ash stood, still cradling his Pikachu and glared at the two rockets. "Very well." He handed out his first pokeball, which the rocket moved forward to take. But just before the exchange, Ash dropped the pokeball, releasing Charizard.

Before the rocket could back off, Charizard took hold of the man by the throat, forcing him to drop the fire arm. He jumped forward catching the other rocket off guard and also took him by the throat. As Charizard looked to his trainer for further instruction, he saw Pikachu's broken body in his arms. Immediately he knew the rodent had passed. His greatest ally and rival in terms of skill was gone. Taken from him by the two men he now held from within an inch of their life. He tightened his grip, his claws poking holes in their necks as they slowly began to suffocate. He growled, flames leaking from his jaw.

By now countless authorities filled in the stadium with their own fire arms and pokemon out. As soon as they saw Charizard, they ordered the release of the criminals so they could be taken into custody, but Charizard ignored them, fully prepared to take the rocket's lives. The police's pokemon then began attacking Charizard in order for him to release the two, but he still held on strong, despite being unfit for any sort of battle. Like his trainer he was fueled by rage. Ash made no move to stop him, nor did any of his friends. They only watched on grimly, knowing very well that team rocket deserved everything they were experiencing. Finally Charizard could take no more beatings and he released the rockets, alive but barely.

* * *

Ash sat up with a start, his breathing heavy and his body covered in sweat. He exhaled slowly, calming his nerves from the haunting memories. Why could he not just forget and move on? He looked into the clear night sky and to the shining stars above. The black void seemed to calm him and the fiery warmth of the orange dragon behind him gave him a sense of security. His other pokemon were scattered throughout the small campsite, sleeping peacefully and unaware of their master's abrupt awakening. Only Charizard woke, since his trainer had been sleeping next to him.

"It's alright," Ash said calmly as to not alert his other pokemon. "Just another dream." He slowly rose to his feet and tossed a few more thick branches onto a steady fire. The fire wasn't necessarily used for warmth, but more so for light of the surrounding area. He stretched, now wide awake from his vivid dream. He gripped the small lure hanging from his neck and looked at the chibi Misty figure. He tightly closed his grasp around the lure and held it close to his aching chest. Was this really what was best? It didn't matter now. He had already been gone for five years without making any contact. There was no way Misty would ever forgive him. If he returned now, she would probably be so infuriated with him and would not want to see him. Perhaps he was most fearful of her moving on with her life, finding a new love, one that would not abandon her like he had.

"Why drive the stake further through your heart every time you look at that thing?" A deep voice said from within the shadowed edge of the campsite.

Ash immediately snapped his head towards the source of the familiar voice. Who could have found him in his training spot deep in the rocky mountains of Mt. Silver? His eyes widened slightly as a tall and muscular man stepped into the fire light. After all these years, the pokemon breeder looked almost the same as he had five years ago. He had the same short spiky brown hair and his squinted eyes cold as stone. He had certainly toned his body over the years as he noticed by his broad chest and muscular arms. He had a traveling pack on his back, just like when they used to travel together as teenagers but he only noticed one pokeball at the breeder's side. He certainly did not come here to fight, not that it worried him in the least.

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked coldly. He knew Brock did not cause Pikachu's death, yet he could not give up the anger he misdirected at the breeder. He still believed he could have reached Pikachu in enough time to avoid the bulk of the collapse. For that he would hold his grudge against Brock.

"One reason and one reason only," Brock said taking off of his pack and setting it roughly off the ground. He took a step forward, so he could get a better look at Ash. The Master was a mess. His hair was long and unruly spiking in every direction as if it had not been tended to in years. Dark circles were very prominent under his eyes, letting the breeder know his old friend was sleep deprived. His black shirt and pants had multiple tears in them and the lure looked extremely out of place around his neck. Even after all these years of separation, he still knew Ash like he would his own brother. Ash had left to find solace in solitude with the idea of sparing those he cared about from his own depression. That solace was never found. Memories of his old life still drifted through his mind, pushing him past his physical and mental limits and driving him to unhealthy exhaustion. He let out a sigh and tried to hide the pity on his face. Ash would not survive much longer alone in the wild. Not in his state of mind.

"That reason is?" Ash asked impatiently as Brock waited in silence. His eyes narrowed as he noticed a quick frown cross the dark man's face before it returned to its stony façade. He looked behind him to see Charizard watching the two, but did not seem too concerned as he recognized Brock. His other pokemon also stirred after hearing the conversation and though none made a move, they still listened in quietly.

"That reason is to bring you back to Misty." Brock said sternly.

"No," he answered tersely.

"You don't have a choice."

"Do you honestly think she would jump for joy at my return? She gave me her heart and I ripped it in two," he began to raise his voice. "How could I ever expect her to forgive me if I haven't even forgiven myself? She's better off without scum like me."

"You're right, she is," Brock said coldly, earning a glare from his former friend. "But she does not believe that and refuses to see anyone but you. Even after you broke her heart, her love for you never died, never faltered."

Ash turned away from Brock, not quite believing what he was saying. Did she really still love him? After what he did to her? Misty was a very independent woman; he would never expect her to fall apart over some guy like him. Did she really love him that much? He shook his head. "Leave Brock, you're wasting your time."

"And you're wasting your life away!" Brock shouted. "Damnit Ash you're only twenty-three! You shouldn't be out here living like this! You should be with Misty! You two were meant for each other, surely you must feel that? How could you push that all away?"

"Why does it matter to you?" Ash heard a shuffle behind him and then a strong hand on his shoulder. He was spun around and Brock had his hands on the collar of his shirt pulling him close until they were only inches apart. Ash scowled as Brock roared in his face.

"Because she is my friend! Do you know what it is like to see someone close to you completely broken in grief? Misty is not the same anymore. You're leaving has changed her and I want the old Misty back! I would know because I've been taking care of her these past five years."

Ash then gripped Brock's shirt and shouted back in response. "Do you know what it's like to see your closest friend get crushed while there was nothing you could do about it? You should know what it's like since you were the one preventing me from saving him."

Brock shook Ash, frustrated that he would try and place the fault on him again. "This isn't about you and me! This is about you and Misty!" He released Ash and pushed him away, a look of disgust on his face. "I come here to tell you that the woman you love still loves you and wants you back and all you can do is throw Pikachu's death at me. I never thought you would be so selfish Ash."

Ash clenched his fist as Brock's comment made his blood boil. Without think he stepped forward, brought his fist back and launched it forward, giving the surprised breeder a right hook in the jaw. Brock stumbled backwards and Ash charged forward tackling the larger man to the ground. Brock recovered quickly as the two rolled around the ground trying to pin the other. Ash landed on top and brought his fist back to strike, but Brock's stronger form allowed him to toss the slender Master off of him. Though Ash had a well toned physique, Brock was still bigger. The two enraged men scrambled to their feet and brought up their guards as they circled each other.

Brock lashed out and Ash easily ducked under the wide hook. He got in two quick jabs and backed out before Brock could clobber him. By now Ash's pokemon came up to the two, ready to defend their master, but Ash ordered them to stay out of it, confident he would be fine on his own. Brock struck out again, catching the pokemon Master in the side as he tried to move away. Their breathing became more labored as they exchanged heavy blows, but it looked as though Ash would come out on top.

Ash moved to the side as Brock came forward again and brought his knees into the man's stomach. But as Brock crouched down, he slammed his fist right into Ash's solar plexus, sending him stumbling. As the two tried to catch their breath Brock hung his head in defeat. Ash was too stubborn to go with him willingly and there was no way he could force him with brute strength. He had just proved that moments ago with their little brawl. He slowly wiped a small trickle of blood from his lip and straightened his posture despite the pain coursing through his body.

Ash watched Brock retreat towards his pack with a smug look on his face. He had won and they both knew it. All at the cost of a black eye and a whole lot of bruises. He stood and began to brush the dirt that had covered his body in the scuffle. Brock loaded his pack onto his back and looked back at Ash as if he had one last thing to say.

"She really isn't the same anymore Ash. I'm not asking you to forgive me or anything. Just go back to Misty. That's all I want. I just want the two of you to be happy together." When he got no response from Ash he let out a defeat sigh and slightly hung his head. "And I have seen my brother get crushed by his own guilt and hate and it pains me to no end knowing there is nothing I can do about it."

Ash recoiled at Brock's words and only watched silently as Brock left the light of the campfire and disappeared into darkness. He looked up to the bright night sky again and clutched the lure around his neck. It was at that moment a meteor shower streaked across the sky and he began to marvel at the beauty of the shooting stars. He closed his eyes and silently muttered to himself. "I wish what Brock speaks is the truth." He then opened his eyes and began to clear out the camp early.

* * *

Misty waited patiently atop a hill on the outskirts of Cerulean past the Golden Bridge for the scheduled meteor shower to take place. She wasn't alone as others had gathered at the popular hill for the cosmic spectacle to take place. Many were young loving couples hoping to experience a romantic date under a flurry of shooting stars. A ping of sadness welled up in her as she remembered the few instances that she and Ash would watch some meteor showers, but she pushed the thoughts out of her mind. She had watched many showers before she got together with Ash, and she would watch many more without him. Yet of the countless wishes made with each shower, hers were always the same. 'I wish Ash and I could be together again.'

* * *

A/N: Yep. That's the end. This is just a sad fic.

But, I will satisfy all of those who want things to end a little differently so there is an epilogue with a much more satisfying ending. I'll edit it tonight night and put it up sometime over the weekend. Got to let the drama of the finale to settle in before I resolve everything. Hope you enjoyed this short fic. let me know what you think and stay tuned for more intense fics whenever I get around to them.


	4. Epilogue

A/N: So funny story. I had a dream that I uploaded this chapter before I left for vacation. I didn't have access to the internet for the week so I didn't realize it hadn't been uploaded. Oops. It has been sitting here for a week collecting dust. Well, here is the conclusion to this short fic. Enjoy.

* * *

Misty walked into the living room with a belt of six pokeballs and handed them to Matt who was sitting on the couch. The young trainer graciously took his pokeballs from the gym leader and fit them around his waist.

"Thank you very much. I really appreciate your hospitality. I should probably head out now if I want to make it to Pewter by the end of the day," Matt said standing up and fitting on his backpack.

"If you're going to Pewter, then you'll probably face Forrest. His is the youngest gym leader in Kanto, but he is still very strong. I wish you best of luck. I'll see you to the door," Misty said kindly. Though she had known Matt for only a day, she really enjoyed his company and learning more about his travels. She had mentioned to him that he was welcome to drop by any time for a rematch or simple catching up. But before she could lead him out of the living room, she ran into the front desk secretary, quite literally.

Her home was usually restricted to her employees, even those whom she had close relations with such as Jasmine, but the young woman's intrusion puzzled her. She was obviously flustered, her skin pale as a sheet, almost as if she had seen a ghost. "What is wrong Jasmine?" Misty asked, reaching for her pokeball incase of any trouble. The young secretary seemed too shocked to even speak, only managing incomprehensive stutters. A familiar man's voice spoke from behind Jasmine and Misty immediately froze, her body tensing as she recognized the bearer of the voice before he even entered the room.

"I'll take it from here," Ash said as he walked in the room and past Jasmine to face Misty. Almost immediately his eyes darted to Matt, his face not betraying the sinking feeling in his heart. But he quickly focused his attention on Misty, who had a vicious look on her face. The guy he did not know looked happier to see him than she did. "Mist I-" He was interrupted as Misty struck his face, a loud slap filling the room.

"Don't you Mist me, Ash Ketchum!" the redhead flared. Her hands balled into a fist and tears filled her vision but she did not let them fall. Instead she kept her glare on the master before her as he steadily looked back into hers.

Jasmine slowly retreated out of the room to return to her desk, not wanting to witness the wrath of the redhead on her ex-lover. Matt's eyes widened as he was completely floored by Misty's reaction. He had obviously missed something between the two and quickly decided to take his exit into the kitchen until they were done. Since they were pretty much blocking the route to the front of the gym, he really couldn't go anywhere and he certainly did not know how long this quarrel would last. He winced as he heard another loud slap followed by more shouting from the gym leader. She had seemed so nice and gentle to him and quite frankly this side of Misty terrified him. But not once had he heard Ash raise his voice, and he figured that at this point, the argument was completely one sided.

Brock slowly walked into the gym wondering how he would explain his sudden return to Misty. It wouldn't matter as he would also have to explain his busted lip. He figured he might as well tell her the truth about what he did. As he walked in, he noticed that Jasmine wasn't at her desk and was surprised to see her on his way to the house. She looked absolutely stricken so he asked her what was wrong.

"Ash is back," she said quietly, almost as if she didn't believe her own words or what she had seen.

Brock recoiled. "What?" Before he gave Jasmine the chance to repeat herself, he ran down the corridor that led to the entrance of the house. As he entered he heard Misty yelling at the top of her lungs and a smile crept across his face. She had not lost her cool in so long that he had forgotten what it was like. He heard a slap ring from what he believed the living room and slowly made his way there. The old Misty was definitely back.

Ash rubbed his cheek after a third smack but he knew he deserved it after everything he put her through. "Misty please, just listen to me."

"Listen to what? To you scrap together some apology for suddenly leaving me behind and refusing to make any contact for five years? Do you have any idea how much you hurt me? I trusted you, I gave you my heart and you ended up throwing it to the dirt! Now that I've managed to piece it together you come back! Was the first time not good enough? How long will it be before you break it a second time? Do I even want to take that chance?"

Brock tensed as he listened from the other room. He did not know how much of the argument he missed, but he knew it wasn't going well. He knew Misty would be angry with Ash, but he didn't think she would take it this far. Was she really going to pass up her chance to be reunited with Ash after wanting him back so badly.

"I thought living alone would allow me to forget. To forget everything that had happened. But the more I tried to forget, the more I became haunted by those memories. There was never a night I didn't think of you," he stepped forward and this time she did not retreat from him. "I could never forgive myself for the selfish stunt I pulled that night and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness." He noticed Misty began to calm from her rage as her eyes fell from his to the lure at his neck. She then turned her gaze to the floor and wrapped her arms around herself. "But I never stopped loving you and there were so many times that I just wanted to come back and hold you in my arms."

Now Misty looked back up at Ash, her eyes filled with fresh tears. "Then why didn't you? I have loved you since we were kids. Why would you think I would stop, even after you left? My heart broke the day you left for Hoenn, but I waited and I was finally rewarded. I just never thought you would intentionally break my heart like that."

Ash stepped forward and slowly pulled Misty into his arms and she let him without resistance. His body surged at her touch and he held her tightly, cherishing everything about it. "I thought you would never want to see me again. But I have learned from this terrible mistake and I want to right what I did wrong. I promise Misty, that I will never leave your side again."

Misty looked up at Ash a slight smile crossing her lips. She squeezed him tightly and buried her head into his chest, her tears still flowing freely, but this time not out of sorrow but out of happiness. "You're a real jerk you know that Ash Ketchum?" She did not once question his promise for the truth was clear in his eyes as well as his voice. He had suffered greatly, perhaps even greater than her over these five long years. She had managed to get a hold of herself, yet Ash had not.

"I know," he said quietly stroking her long orange locks. Nothing felt more right to him than the two of them together in each other's arms. He pulled away from her and sighed, earning a questioning glance from his love. "Is… Brock here? I want to speak with him."

Misty seemed shocked by his question, but a glint of hope was in her eyes. Would Ash finally forgive Brock after all these years and become friends again. She could only hope however and wished that Brock was here and not in Viridian. "I'm sorry Ash. He's in Viridian."

"Actually, I'm right here," Brock said stepping into the room, surprising the water gym leader. "In truth, I did not go to Viridian on an emergency call. I went to Mt. Silver to track down Ash and bring him back. I couldn't get him to come with me, so this is rather unexpected," he said with a stoic expression on his face.

Misty watched as Ash turned to his old friend, but neither held welcoming expressions on her face. She began to worry if they would end up fighting instead of making peace. She only suspected violence from catching the bruise around Ash's eyes as well as Brock's slightly swollen lip. She certainly hoped this would not be round two of whatever happened between them.

"Ever since I saw Pikachu get crushed, I've thrown the blame on you. I hated you for stopping me and led myself to believe that if it weren't for you, I could have saved him. I was so blind by rage that I destroyed our friendship, a bond that had been formed and strengthened for years. What you said to me last night made me realize how wrong I was to pass judgment on you," Ash said as he looked into Brock's unchanging expression.

But Brock could not keep up his stony façade for long. He stepped forward and embraced Ash in a large bear hug. "Forgive and forget. I'm just glad to have you back brother." He smiled as Ash returned his bear hug and Misty's face lit up with joy. The three friends were finally reunited.

The End

With Ash's return, Misty became her old hotheaded fiery self due to Ash's rather thick and childish diehard habits and Brock once again found a brother he had once thought lost to him forever. The first few days were spent awkwardly amongst the three friends as they caught up from the five years they had been apart. Brock eventually moved out of Cerulean and began traveling again to take his pokemon breeding passion to other regions. He would then settle in Mahogany Town after finally meeting a woman that was just as crazy about him as he was her. He would open yet another breeding center where he would become a very successful and widely renown pokemon breeder.

Misty remained at the head of her gym and would continue to do so and eventually work her way as the strongest gym in all of Kanto. Occasionally, when her sisters returned to visit, she would leave the gym in their hands while she traveled with Ash just like when they were children. Her wedding with the young Master was one she would never forget, however ungraceful her knight in shining armor was during the vows. They would proceed to have three children afterwards, each having a strong trait of their parents. The three children would grow up to be successful pokemon trainers, the oldest eventually taking his mother's place as gym leader.

Ash traveled through Kanto, participating in many tourney's and leagues with the hopes of facing strong trainers. His biggest challenge was when he proposed to Misty and it seemed to be the talk for weeks. In the paper, on TV., in magazines. A nervous wreck a week before, during , and after the wedding, it was a memorable experience for all who were there to see. The two went on a tropical cruise for their honeymoon, which became more of a game of dodge the press than a romantic getaway. After he was relinquished of his Master title, Ash devoted himself to being the perfect dad he never had to his three beloved children.

And lastly, after all the fighting had settled, Matthew Warner met his idol in person. The two agreed to a six on five battle later that day. Ash had lost two of his pokemon to Matt's six, the final match-up between Charizard and Typhlosion. The battle was intense, but Charizard still easily pulled ahead. Matt would then spend his days collecting the rest of Kanto's badges and participating in the Indigo league, where he made it to the finals, but lost a close match to another trainer. But that did not stop him as he took the Elite Four challenge almost immediately after and earned the title of Kanto's Champion after finally defeating Lance in a full six on six battle. The time would come when Matt would challenge Ash for his Master title, and at the age of twenty-one, Matthew Warner became the next pokemon master.

Fin


End file.
